For years, we’ve waited for an Apple Cup in Pullman to be scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We finally got our wish, but now the other shoe has dropped: The 2022 contest between the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars will kickoff late at night and in the frigid cold.
ESPN has picked up the game and put it in the 7:30 p.m. PT slot, we learned this morning. You will also be able to watch the game via ESPN’s online streaming platform or app.
As we all know, that also means something else: Cold. And maybe snow?
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Over the years, WSU fans have relished the idea of snow in the Apple Cup, owing largely to the stunning 1992 victory over the 5th-ranked, 1-loss, Rose Bowl-bound Huskies. But then 2018 happened, when snow sabotaged Gardner Minshew and the Cougs’ high-powered passing attack.
But this time, the script is flipped: It’s the Huskies who sling it all over the field behind Michael Penix Jr., who leads the nation’s most prolific passing offense to the tune of more than 365 yards a game. Would the snow slow them down?
That’s just one of many potentially interesting storylines. These are two hot teams coming into the game, with Washington having won five straight — including a road upset of Oregon — and the Cougars having won three. While the Cougs will be playing for pride and bowl positioning, the Huskies still have a shot at finishing second in the Pac-12 and securing a spot in the Pac-12 championship game.
The Cougs won last year’s Apple Cup in Seattle by the widest margin in school history, 40-13.
