The Apple Cup is back on Sunday, and the early read is harsh for Washington State: Washington is expected to win big, with one forecast landing on a 38-14 result and a 35-point margin. That makes Demond Williams the name to watch for Washington, while Kirby Moore begins his first game at the helm for Washington State under a cloud of turnover.
That is why the rivalry is drawing attention now. It is Washington’s first game of the season, and the matchup arrives before either side has much time to settle in. Vegas has Washington as the clear favorite, and UWDP staff also see a blowout coming, while Washington State is trying to sort out a roster reshaped by offseason departures and a new staff.
The reasons for that view are easy to trace. Washington State lost many players when Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State, then brought in Caden Pinnick from Cal-Davis and handed the defense to Trent Bray. Even with that churn, the offensive line kept enough continuity to avoid becoming an obvious weak spot, but the defense is still described as especially vulnerable to run-heavy opponents. Against a quarterback like Williams, who is expected to be a threat on the ground, that leaves little room for error.
Washington also brings more stability into the Apple Cup. The Huskies are viewed as the deeper and more experienced side, and Quaid Carr is being singled out as a plus for them as the game gets closer. That does not erase the one fact that should keep Washington from treating this as a formality: last year’s game was a one-score contest well into the second half. Washington State was still in it late, even with less going for it than it has now.
That is the friction inside the prediction. Washington State has been tagged as vulnerable, yet this rivalry has a way of resisting clean scripts, and the program in Pullman wants to take the trophy back with it. If Washington turns the 38-14 forecast into reality, it will do more than win an opener; it will show that the gap between the teams is wider than last season suggested. If it does not, the first Sunday of the year could feel a lot closer to the old Apple Cup pattern than the numbers imply.
