Sour Apples

In the state of Washington, college basketball has probably never been welcomed with such open arms.

That's because the 101st installment of the gridiron version of the Apple Cup, between the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars, is being called the worst ever college football matchup.

The media has coined several new monikers for this rivalry including the "Rotten" Apple Cup, the "Crapple Cup" and calling the game "Full of Worms." Best of all Fox Sports has made this year's Apple Cup its national TV game tomorrow.

This season the Cougs and Huskies have a combined 1-20 record and are a pathetic 0-15 in the Pac-10. (The only win was Washington State's 48-9 victory over I-AA Portland State.)

Making this more bizarre is the fact that Wazzu's men hoops team scored 15 more points than in their opener than the football team has combined for in eight Pac-10 games this year.

Washington State's offense has been ugly and the depth became so thin at midseason that first-year coach Paul Wulff held open tryouts. Just look at the numbers. In three of their past four losses, the Cougars football team has been shut out 69-0, 58-0 and 31-0, ending their streak dating back to 1984 where the Cougars had not been shut out.

However, if you think this game doesn't matter, think again. The stakes are high.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel writes "if you're a Washington or Washington State player, you're already doomed to a legacy of having played for the worst team in school history. Beating your archrival would be the one saving grace to keep the season from being a total nightmare."

I couldn't agree more. This is a rivalry game, it matters to the players, coaches and the fans. These games carry even more significance when there hasn't been anything to celebrate.


Here's what other writers have said about this weekend's Apple Cup:

Rivals.com writer David Fox pays tribute to some of the other worst end-of-the-season rivalry games.

In a special to FoxSports.com Billy Witz says in a season of inexperience, injuries and bad breaks nobody's calling this rivalry about bragging rights.

And win or lose in tomorrow's game, Washington State head coach Paul Wulff has a major task ahead to rejuvenate football in Pullman. It's hard to believe how far the program has fallen after going 30-8 at the beginning of the decade, and arguably being the best team in the Pac-10 from 2001-2003. So how will Wulff turn it around? He's got a plan.