What Can We Learn from the Most Lopsided Apple Cups?
Probably nothing. But that isn’t any fun—so let’s look at history and see if it can help us speculate about the future.
As of Thursday morning, most sportsbooks list Washington as a 20.5-point favorite for Saturday. While the Huskies have historically dominated the series, that’s still a massive line for a rivalry game. Odds for games before the mid-2000s are tough to track down, so this list isn’t exhaustive, but here are a few notable spreads and outcomes:
1982 – #5 Washington (9–1) @ WSU (2–7–1) | Huskies -24.5
Final: WSU 24, UW 20
Arguably the greatest upset in Apple Cup history. Maybe it was the all-crimson uniforms, worn for the first time since the 1931 Rose Bowl. Maybe it was overconfidence—UW even sent its beat writer to cover Ohio State–Michigan instead. What’s certain: the Martin Stadium goalposts ended up in the Palouse River.
1991 – WSU (4–6) @ #2 Washington (10–0) | Huskies -34
Final: UW 56, WSU 21
One of UW’s all-time great teams, fresh off a 58–6 demolition of Oregon State, rolled past the Cougs. The Huskies went on to beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and finished #1 in the Coaches Poll.
2009 – WSU (1–10) @ Washington (3–7) | Huskies -25
Final: UW 30, WSU 0
The Marshall Lobbestael/Kevin Lopina QB room didn’t exactly inspire confidence. The bright spot? Reid Forrest punted the heck out of the ball.
2012 – #25 Washington (7–4) @ WSU (2–9) | Huskies -14
Final: WSU 31, UW 28 (OT)
Mike Leach’s first “things might be different” moment. The Cougs scored 18 unanswered in the 4th, with Jeff Tuel slinging it to Dom Williams. And who could forget Steve Sarkisian icing Andrew Furney while he was already celebrating the kick he hadn’t attempted yet?
2023 – WSU (5–6) @ #4 UW (11–0) | Huskies -16.5
Final: UW 24, WSU 21
A controversial roughing-the-passer call might have swung the CFP door open for UW. Cam Ward was spectacular—dropping dimes to Josh Kelly and Kyle Williams—while Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson gave everything to push WSU toward bowl eligibility.
2025 – Washington (2–0) @ WSU (2–1) | Huskies -20.5
This line feels absurd. Washington has beaten Colorado State and UC Davis—I wouldn’t call that murders row. Meanwhile, WSU is 2–0 at home and looked sharp against San Diego State in Pullman. It is hard to even compare recent games to the entire series with it being played in September instead of near Thanksgiving. Rivalries are built on chaos. A 20-point spread may look justified on paper, but if there’s ever a game to “throw out the records” and just line up to see who wants it more, this is it.
Could this be another Apple Cup upset—and the start of a “Jedd Fisch can’t beat WSU” narrative? I sure hope so.