Washington State
Washington #17
8:00 PM · Husky Stadium

Washington State travels to Washington (#17), with Washington (#17) favored by 23.

This is Apple Cup — see the full head-to-head history →

What’s at stake

Make the CFP field

Washington · 15%15% → ▲17% if win15% → ▼9% if loss
Washington State · 7%7% → ▲11% if win7% → ▼5% if loss

Win the conference

Washington · 3%3% → ▲3% if win3% → ▼2% if loss
Washington State · 15%15% → ▲17% if win15% → ▼15% if loss

Win it all

Washington · 0%0% → ▲0% if win0% → ▼0% if loss
Washington State · 0%0% → ▲0% if win0% → ▼0% if loss

CFP odds as of September 5, 2026

See this week’s biggest postseason implications ›

The series

Washington leads the series 69-32-4

105 meetings since 1917 · Washington won the last meeting

  • 2025Washington 59–24
  • 2024 · neutral siteWashington State 24–19
  • 2023Washington 24–21
  • 2022Washington 51–33
  • 2021Washington State 40–13

Face-off

What each fanbase carries into this one.

Apple Cupwinner takes the Apple Cup

Washington State

The chip · vs big brother

Cougar fans watched the bigger schools sprint to richer leagues and leave the loyal ones behind, and they have not forgotten which neighbor pulled the ladder up. They say the ones who ran abandoned the conference; the Cougs are the ones who kept it alive.

What this game touches

Left behind in the Pac-12 collapse. In 2023 the Pac-12's biggest names bolted for the Big Ten and Big 12, and Washington State — too remote, too small a market — got no invitation. WSU and Oregon State were the only two left holding the conference's name, forced to schedule against a borrowed league while everyone who ran cashed in.

Washington

The chip · vs the national media

Fans heard their 2023 run reframed the moment DeBoer left — that the season was a fluke of one coach and one quarterback, that the West Coast program would shrink back to the middle. They believe Husky Stadium on the water and the program's history say otherwise, and they're tired of having to re-prove it.

What this game touches

Losing the 2023 team all at once. Months after playing for the title, Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama, Michael Penix Jr. went to the NFL, and the roster scattered into a new conference. Jedd Fisch inherited a near-total rebuild and went 6-7 in the 2024 Big Ten debut before steadying to 9-4 in 2025 with a LA Bowl win over Boise State — progress, but still short of the 2023 ceiling.

Best players

Washington

  • Alex McLaughlin (S) · 2025: 94 tackles
  • Xe'Ree Alexander (LB) · 2025: 70 tackles
  • Makell Esteen (S) · 2025: 51 tackles

Washington State

  • Titus Miller (DL) · 1 tackles
  • Cameron Weir (WR) · 13 rushing yards
  • Dylan Paine (RB) · 3 rushing yards

The line, and the room

Washington fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (68th percentile) — the mood matches the numbers.

  • Model · 71%
  • Market · 97%
  • Washington fans · 68th
  • Washington State fans · 12th

Home −23 · O/U 51

Conditions

68°F · 6 mph wind · Clear

Home-field advantage: Strong

Washington is 78% at home, 54% on the road since 2018 (40-11 home, 19-16 away).