On August 25, the Washington men’s basketball team released its non-conference schedule. While perusing down the list of opponents two familiar names failed to come up. Washington State and Seattle U were set aside in favor of other non-conference opponents. This would mark the first time since 1916 that Washington will not play Washington State in basketball.
Jedd Fisch, however, is determined not to let this happen on the gridiron.
On Monday’s press conference, Fisch emphasized the importance of keeping the historic Apple Cup rivalry alive despite scheduling uncertainties that may arise in the future.
“I told our team, I don’t know how many other games started in 1900,” Fisch said. “I know that no one on our team has played in a game that’s that historical. There’s no other rivalry games or games that have gone on for that long that are played, so for us it is very important.”
This year’s edition of the Apple Cup features a unique twist. Due to the NFL Season starting the week after week one of the college football season (Wednesday, September 9), the Apple Cup will be played on a Sunday. The game will air on NBC at 1:00 p.m.: a standalone game.
SUNDAYS ARE MADE FOR FOOTBALL
When given the choice between playing on Saturday or Sunday, Fisch emphatically chose Sunday, stating that the entire country should be tuned in to the game as it premieres right after Notre Dame takes on Wisconsin at 9:00 a.m., also on NBC.
“Everybody that turns on the TV on Sunday in the fall is looking for football, so it just happens to be ‘surprise’ it’s college, and it’s us,” Fisch said. “That’s our hope that our guys, that our fan base across the country, that all the East Coast people, the media, the teams, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, they’re all turning [the game] on.”
With Washington in the Big Ten and Washington State in the new Pac-12, scheduling this historic rivalry becomes more difficult, but until the scheduling decisions fall out of Fisch’s hands, he will continue to try and pencil in the cross-state rival.
“Scheduling’s going to be out of our hands here soon, so at some point we’re probably going to shift, and there’s going to be decisions that are made on ‘Will it continue?’, ‘How much longer does it continue for?’, but right now I know that we play them on Sunday and we have to be ready.”
In last season’s Apple Cup in Pullman Cougars were manhandled 59-24 . The game was close at the end of the third quarter with Washington leading 31-24. However, a 28-0 fourth-quarter onslaught from Washington put the game away for good.
A GAME NOT TO FORGET
2024 was a different story. In Fisch’s first year in Seattle, Washington State stunned UW at Lumen Field, 24-19, and Fisch has not forgotten the sour taste that loss left in the mouth of the entire program.
“[I] talked about the fact there were 17 times that [Washington State] came into Seattle on the home stadium and won,” Fisch said. “And we have to understand that, and we’re getting ready for this game, and our guys are focused, they’re locked in, and I’m excited for the game to happen.”
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