Breaking Down Al-Uqdah's 2024 Apple Cup, Play By Play

The transfer portal, while providing opportunity for college football players to change locations and enhance careers, effectively has blurred the lines of competition.

Take Taariq "Buddah" Al-Uqdah, for instance, and the approaching Apple Cup.

Last year, the linebacker slammed into University of Washington blockers, runners and receivers for Washington State, celebrated the misfortune of the other side and walked away with a 24-19 victory at Lumen Field.

In another week, he'll bring the opposite mindset to Martin Stadium, doing everything he can to enable the Huskies to beat the Cougars and many of his old friends.

It's almost a case study in psychology. Or a Matthew McConaughey movie sequel: How to Lose a Team in 10 Days.

"We were very aware of how good Buddah was as a linebacker last year and how active he was and how many tackles he had," UW coach Jedd Fisch said.

Buddah Al-Uqdah prepares for a play to begin against UC Davis, with an official signaling behind him. | Dave Sizer photo

Once the 2024 game began, Al-Uqdah was seen yelling right off the bat at UW center D'Angalo Titiialii in an angry manner, with no love lost for those Huskies.

However, that was one UW relationship he didn't have to patch up once coming to Montlake, with Titialii simply a one-season hired gun from Portland State who was gone.

Early on , Al-Uqdah traded healthy shoves with tight end Keleki Latu and offensive guard Enokk Vimahi, again players he didn't have to make amends with once landing at the UW. These were more hired guns, from Nevada and Ohio State, both out of eligibility.

The veteran linebacker can remind UW junior wide receiver Denzel Boston how he was one of three Cougars who dropped him for no gain on a first-quarter pass play and put another hard hit on him in the second period on a 5-yard reception.

UW sophomore running back Adam Mohammed, however, can point out to Al-Uqdah how he ran through his arm tackle in the first quarter for 12 yards and picked up a first down at his expense.

At the end of the opening period, since departed wide receiver Giles Jackson caught a 14-yard pass that required Al-Uqdah to bring him down from behind.

Yet the man named Buddah was among those who stopped senior running back Jonah Coleman after a yard gain in the left flat, on a third-and-3 play, that forced a punt.

In the third quarter, Al-Uqdah and a teammate tackled sophomore tight end Decker DeGraaf at the end of a 21-yard pass that put the ball on the WSU 11 and led to a Grady Gross field goal, cutting the Cougars lead to 17-16.

Fisch compares the 6-foot, 237-pound Al-Uqdah to Jacob Manu, who played for Fisch at Arizona, led the Pac-12 in tackles in 2023 and is now at the UW recovering from a knee injury and teammates with Al-Uqdah. Mirror images. Compact and mobile defenders.

"He reminded me a lot of Jacob Manu, so we had a very similar thought process when we played Buddah as we saw teams preparing for Jacob," the coach said.

Buddah Al-Uqdah put an open-field hit on a Colorado State player. | Dave Sizer photo

Al-Uqdah lined up all over the field in that 2024 Apple Cup, playing middle linebacker alone or in second-row tandem with a teammate while covering the left flat and showing a lot of range.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, he brought down Coleman on a 3-yard run up the middle to the UW 42.

With just over a minute left in the game and the Huskies going for the win on the ever fateful fourth-and-1 play at the WSU 1, Al Uqdah even lined up at left defensive end.

He took on a block from Latu, who probably should have hit one of the guys he ran past instead, with other Cougars tacklers getting upfield and dropping Coleman for a 2-yard loss to seal the Apple Cup outcome.

Al-Uqdah, who finished with 6 tackles, celebrated with his old teammates. He had beaten the hated Huskies that day and seemed to relish every moment of it. And now, of course, he is one of them.

In this coming rivalry game, everyone knows this linebacker by now and what he can do.

"We certainly were aware of the type of player Buddah was and I'm sure they're aware of the type of player Buddah is as they go into to playing us," Fisch said of the new Cougars coaching staff.

Funny how all that works.

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