Huskies Bone Up on Rivalry with Apple Cup 101 Session

On Saturday, University of Washington football players will face Washington State in the Apple Cup in Pullman.

Last Thursday, Jedd Fisch held what amounted to a classroom session to explain to his guys what this particular game is all about.

Seriously.

It was Apple Cup 101.

It was necessary because just 21 of the 103 players on the UW roster, or 20.3 percent, grew up in the state.

It was mandatory because only four of the 22 Husky starters, or 18.1 percent, have a Washington driver's license, with offensive linemen Landen and Geirean Hatchett coming from Ferndale and wide receiver Denzel Boston and edge rusher Jacob Lane from Puyallup.

Fisch's impromptu lecture could have gone a little something like this: "Now class, for your homework tonight is please read the chapter on the 1992 Apple Cup and be prepared to write an essay about what happens when a Rose Bowl-bound team runs into Drew Bledsoe's strong right arm and an overnight snowfall."

Jacob Lane from Puyallup is one of just four UW starters who are homegrown players. | Dave Sizer photo

Actually, Fisch shared with his largely imported roster how long the rivalry game has been played, what the overall records are and who said what during the years.

If he did his own homework properly, the Husky coach could have quoted his legendary predecessor Don James, who once wisecracked, "I’ve always felt that being a Cougar prepares you well for life -- you learn not to expect too much.”

Or Fisch, to demonstrate the importance of this game, could have shared this gem from former Washington State offensive guard Dan Lynch, who in 1984 said, "There are four important stages in your life: you’re born, you play the Huskies, you get married and you die.”

In this day and age of transient college football, with players changing teams rapid fire and coming from all corners of the country to join a new one, these sort of tutorials likely are going on all over the place.

While the learned fans hang on to every last back story surrounding these games and automatically feel the emotion involved, today's player more often than not need cue cards to work with. In a lot of ways for them, this is just another game.

As the state lines are blurred for every roster, these rivalry match-ups stand to be a little more watered-down each year from what they once were from the emotional standpoint.

Landen Hatchett is one of just four homegrown players in the UW starting lineup. | Dave Sizer photo

The Cougars, for that matter, will show up with a roster that counts just 27 state players among the 118 on the roster, or 22.8 percent, and just 3 of the 22 starters, or 13.6 percent, are home-bred players, with defensive lineman Bryson Lamb coming from Bellingham, offensive lineman Ashton Tripp from Kennewick and offensive lineman Jonny Lester from Spokane.

"You also have to remember this is what's happening at every program across the country, that when you have these rivalry games, you have a lot of players who haven't played in them or are new to them," Fisch said. "That being the case, you just have to treat it like its own entity, give them the best education you can and tell them how important it is.

"But on the same token, just go out and play the game the best you can."

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