Jedd Fisch, Huskies seek redemption against Cougars in Apple Cup
Washington head coach Jedd Fisch leaves the field after losing to Washington State in the Apple Cup last year at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times, 2024)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter
During any given season, Jedd Fisch said a college football team has a chance to win three trophies.
Two of those opportunities — a conference championship and a bowl or postseason trophy — have to be earned. Only one is guaranteed.
“This is a championship game,” Fisch said Monday. “That being the case, our full focus is on winning the championship. And that’s what our conversations have been about the last four days.”
Washington (2-0) returns from its bye week to face cross-state rivals Washington State (2-1) in the 117th Apple Cup at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Martin Stadium in Pullman. It’s a chance at redemption for Fisch and the Huskies, who lost the 2024 Apple Cup at Lumen Field after a fourth-down goal-line stop by the Cougars secured a 24-19 win for Washington State.
“Obviously, our team is really focused,” Fisch said. “Really focused on getting the trophy back here in Seattle. We’re going to do everything we can to get that done.”
Fisch, now preparing for his second Apple Cup at Washington, said he and his staff have been trying to instill the importance of the rivalry in his players. Washington has more than 40 new scholarship players who were not on the team to experience its humbling defeat a year ago. Only 21 Huskies list Washington as their home state on the team’s roster.
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So just like they did a year ago, when Fisch was preparing for his first Apple Cup experience and brought in former Huskies like Lawyer Milloy and Michael Jackson to speak with the team about the rivalry’s importance, the UW coach said they spent time educating his team on the Apple Cup’s history during the bye week.
They’ve talked about former WSU quarterback Jayden de Laura, who later played for Fisch at Arizona, planting Ol’ Crimson on the UW logo at Husky Stadium after Washington State routed Washington 40-13 in 2021. It’s still the Huskies’ most-recent loss on Montlake.
This teaching process is something Fisch acknowledged goes on at every program, especially in an era of college football where players have more mobility and may still be learning a program’s culture and history.
“We talked about the overall record of the two programs against one another,” Fisch said. “We talked about some of the quotes that were made years and years ago, probably some of the players they’ve never heard of.
“Talked about quotes from Mike Price. Talked about quotes from Dennis Erickson. Then you have to teach them about who Mike Price and Dennis Erickson are. So it’s kind of like constant education when you talk about a game like this.”
Of course, firsthand experience is the best teacher, Fisch said. The failed fourth-and-one speed-option run to the short side of the field condemned the Huskies to a season without the Apple Cup in their possession — just the second time UW has lost the rivalry game since 2013.
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No amount of alumni testimonials can replicate the frustration created by watching the governor award the Apple Cup trophy to the rival school’s president.
Knowing how many times each school has won the game doesn’t make it any less painful to walk into the offensive team room and see the empty trophy case. Declarations of importance from former players pale in comparison to memories of the tears in the eyes of devastated Huskies in the Lumen Field locker room.
“All of those things certainly make it very real and very important,” Fisch said. “Unique in college football.”
Few players have as much hands-on experience in the Apple Cup as junior linebacker Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah. The 6-foot, 237-pound Los Angeles native spent three seasons at Washington State before transferring to Washington before the 2025 campaign.
He played a crucial part in blowing up UW’s fourth-down play in 2024, effectively sealing the edge to allow fellow linebacker Kyle Thornton to make the game-sealing stop and help WSU clinch the first Apple Cup win of Al-Uqdah’s career.
Now, he’ll return to Pullman wearing purple and gold. Al-Uqdah has been an unquestioned starter since arriving in Seattle before spring practices. His 11 tackles, including one for a loss, jointly leads Washington along with sixth-year senior safety Makell Esteen.
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Fisch said he’s spoken to Al-Uqdah about the challenges of playing against his former school, but said his situation is another new dynamic in the shifting landscape of college football.
“He’s a Husky,” Fisch said. “That’s what he is right now. He was a Cougar, and now he’s a Husky. His job is to represent the University of Washington in the best possible way he can. And that’s on the field, playing with great effort, being disciplined, being smart, making a lot of tackles, being a great communicator.
“And that’s — hopefully at the end of the game — celebrating a victory if we do our job.”
Extra points:
- Fisch said the team will continue to monitor the health of senior cornerback Tacario Davis, who exited UW’s 70-10 win against UC Davis during the second quarter after making a diving interception and did not return. Fisch said Monday the Arizona transfer is questionable for the Apple Cup, and will have day-to-day status going forward.
- The UW coach also said the team is monitoring junior defensive tackle Jayvon Parker as he continues his recovery from the Achilles tendon injury that ended his 2024 season after just four games. Parker is nearly one-year post injury, having suffered it during UW’s 21-18 loss against Rutgers on Sept. 27.
- Fisch announced sophomore wide receiver Rashid Williams underwent surgery for his injured collarbone during the bye week. Williams was hurt during UW’s first offensive play from scrimmage against UC Davis. Fisch said he expects the wide receiver to miss around six weeks.
- Fifth-year defensive back Dyson McCutcheon also had surgery for an injured shoulder, Fisch announced Monday, and has been ruled out for the season. McCutcheon didn’t dress for UW’s first two games of the season. He’s the third Husky to suffer a season-ending injury, joining junior edge rusher Russell Davis II and redshirt freshman defensive back Rahim Wright II. McCutcheon will need a medical redshirt if he hopes to play a final season of college football.
- Senior wide receiver Omari Evans is in line to make his Washington debut, Fisch said. The Penn State transfer has missed UW’s first two games because of a soft-tissue injury, but Fisch said he will be available against Washington State unless he sustains a setback. Fisch said Evans will be an option in the slot, where he spent most of fall camp, and outside, as a potential replacement for Williams.
- Fisch said he isn’t thinking about anything beyond the Apple Cup this weekend when asked about his name being mentioned as a potential candidate for the UCLA job following DeShaun Foster’s firing Sunday. Fisch’s buyout at Washington is $10 million until Jan. 8, 2026, when it drops to $6 million according to his contract agreement, acquired by The Seattle Times.
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.