Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.
Washington is a 25-point favorite over Washington State for Saturday’s Apple Cup. To put that eye-bulging point spread into perspective, the last time the Huskies were such a weighty favorite was Sept. 20, 2003, when they were favored to beat Idaho by 26½ points.
You know what they say about betting a team or horse or person doing something they’re unfamiliar with. That’s Washington on Saturday, playing the role of a USC-like favorite.
The Huskies will win Saturday. That is a given, even though UW has beaten Washington State just once in the past five Apple Cups.
But what counts as a win? Just beating the Cougars? I don’t think so. Any team with a pulse beats WSU these days. The Cougars have lost 11 consecutive road games, by margins of 21, 46, 32, 26, 41, 28, 25, 53, 58, 31 and 14 points.
And most of those opponents were just going through the motions against Washington State. The Huskies are motivated. And, they no longer have the unimaginative anchor on the sideline that was Tyrone Willingham.
So what counts as a bona fide Apple Cup win for the Huskies?
If quarterbackTaylor Bean is in the discussion for playing time at halftime, it’s a winning day.
If Washington loses the game, it’s not just a lost day. It’s a lost season.
If defensive coordinator Nick Holt is sipping chamomile tea during the fourth quarter, it’s a win for Washington.
If at least eight Huskies don’t catch a pass in the Apple Cup, it’s a bad day for the offense.
If Kavario Middleton’s prediction that UW will hang at least 50 on the Cougars doesn’t come true, it was a bad day for the Huskies.
If Washington State quarterback Kevin Lopina has a career day, it’s a bittersweet win for the Huskies.
If it’s not clear which team has the better quarterback, it’s a losing day for Washington.
If Paul Wulff gets to show off his vertical leap and dance moves again, it’s grocery-bag-over-head day for Washington.
If Washington has to run a two-minute drill during the fourth quarter, it’s as good as a loss.
If you see the Apple Cup media lining up to get onto the field with 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, rather than school-allowed eight minute mark, it probably was a solid win for UW.
If Chris Polk runs like the Pac-10 best uniform No. 1, Jacquizz Rodgers, it’s a big win for Washington.
If Husky play-by-play man Bob Rondeau sounds disgusted at any point with UW during the second half, it’s probably not a winning day.
If it is called the “Crapple Cup” in Sunday morning’s newspaper, Washington should be ashamed.
Nick Daschel covers the Pacific-10 Conference for Buster Sports, and can be reached at ndaschel@bustersports.com
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