Predictions For Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars

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The No. 17Washington Huskies football team is looking to start the 2026-27 season a high note in the season opener, the 118th edition of the Apple Cup, against the Washington State Cougars at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Both teams will enter the season in different places as a program. The Huskies will be in their third year in the Big Ten and third year under head coach Jedd Fisch. The Cougars will be in the first season under head coach Kirby Moore and in the newest edition of the Pac-12.

With the established players that Washington has and the, relatively, unknown roster from Washington State, it's hard to operate on anything beyond precedent on how the game will go.

With that being said, here are three predictions, including the final score, for the 118th Apple Cup between the Huskies and the Cougars:

Both offenses look to establish themselves early

The Huskies have spent the majority of the offseason developing the connection between third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and his starting outside receivers, fourth-year Rashid Williams and sixth-year Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss.

Demond Williams and Washington have looked more comfortable in deep passes and 50-50 throws on the outside this offseason, and no doubt the third-year signal-caller will be looking to keep his eyes downfield for Moss or Rashid Williams.

In the past, Fisch has also looked to establish the run to set up the past. Second-year Quaid Carr will get the start, but the team will operate by-committee in the backfield with fourth-year Jayden Limar and sixth-year Trey Cooley.

Washington's effectiveness in the backfield and in the deep-passing game will be something to monitor early.

Moore favors an uptempo offense, and was successful in implementing that in the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Southeastern Conference's (SEC) Missouri Tigers. The team was a top-50 offense in the country in points per game all three seasons.

However, with a mostly retooled roster, it's unclear how well the current roster will be able to execute Moore's playbook.

The Huskies defense has pedigree, and it's likely Moore will try and catch UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' defense on its back foot in the early drives.

Multi-interception day for UW defense

One of the main goals of the offseason for Washington's defense, in its second year under Walters, was to be more anticipatory instead of reactive on defense and create more turnovers.

In offseason practice, the defense has shown the ability to do that and has been able to win battles against the Huskies after giving up long plays.

Fourth-year safety Alex McLaughlin, who had two interceptions (including one pick-six) in last year's Apple Cup, has been one of the main beneficiaries of that mindset and has found himself in the right position to snag interceptions either by jumping routes or snagging tipped balls.

The linebackers have also made it a habit of being in the right position this offseason to secure a turnover.

Moore's aggression on offense could be what keeps WSU competitive early, and it will likely be what the defense capitalizes on late, as well.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Washington 41, Washington State 24

As several recent Apple Cups have gone, I expect the Cougars to be competitive and keep in reach of the Huskies early. However, I expect Washington to come out of halftime with the necessary adjustments to put their cross-state rivals away and begin the season 1-0.

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