WSU Cougars vs Washington Huskies Apple Cup 2013: 5 Things to Watch
By Josh Davis
Nov 15, 2013; Pasadena, CA, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team to the field for the game against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
1: Highest Emotions
This is going to be interesting. This might be the first time we’ve had national eyes on the game since the 2002 classic in Pullman. The Cougs were ranked 3rd at the time so national championship implications were on the line. Let’s not talk about what happened… but we ended up in the Rose Bowl anyway!
What’s that mean for this year? It means the stakes are high again. Not only that, but after the WSU comeback last season there are some angry Dawgs.
The players will come out of the tunnel as fired up as you can remember seeing in this rivalry and no doubt it will be sustained, but who can start playing level-headed ball the earliest will have a leg up. It would be really easy to not be focused early on and end up with some costly mistakes that put one team or the other in a hole.
What to watch: An early turnover and stupid penalties