The UWDP Staff is calling for a Washington blowout in the Sunday Apple Cup and says the betting line in Vegas points to a 38-14 win for the Huskies. That is a bigger margin than the game itself, and it puts WSU under Kirby Moore in a difficult spot before his first game at the helm.
The prediction matters now because the Apple Cup is here on Sunday, and Washington opens the season with a rivalry game and the trophy on the line. Washington State fans are already sounding skeptical, and the mood matches the staff view that Washington is the better team.
The numbers behind that view are blunt. Last year’s Apple Cup was a 1-score game well into the second half, but this forecast points to a much cleaner finish for Washington — a 35-point win, with Vegas at 38-14 and the staff leaning even harder toward the Huskies. That gap is the whole story: the line itself already suggests control, and the staff’s read widens it further.
Kirby Moore takes over a Washington State offense that has been described as functional, but short on receiving talent and prone to turnovers. The hope is that Moore can get the passing attack back on track after a dip during the Jimmy Rogers era, while Caden Pinnick, a transfer from Cal-Davis, is seen as having upside. Even so, the offense is not being sold as the problem that will decide this game.
That is where the friction sits. Washington State’s offensive line is said to have enough continuity to avoid being a glaring weak spot, and Trent Bray, the former Oregon St HC, is expected to run the defense. On paper, that sounds like enough structure to keep the game competitive. Yet the staff still lands on a comfortable Washington win, which tells you how much confidence there is in the Huskies and how little faith there is that WSU’s pieces will hold up for four quarters.
Washington has its own question marks in the RB stable, but the staff thinks the combination of a good offensive line, a rotation of backs and the ground threat of Demond Williams should keep drives moving. That is the path to the margin here: not one explosive play, but repeated possession wins and enough pressure on WSU to make the turnover issue matter fast.
The opening whistle will answer how much of this is projection and how much is reality. For now, the staff view is clear enough: Washington is expected to control the Apple Cup, and Moore’s debut arrives with the toughest kind of opponent waiting on the other sideline.
