The right team won the Apple Cup, but let’s hope the middle finger gets even bigger

‘Are you crying?’ my daughter asked me around 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon.

I paused before answering. We were at my granddaughter’s 2-year-old birthday party with toddler festivities in progress, but I was keenly focused on a flat screen that showed the final seconds running out on the Huskies in the Apple Cup.

It just hit me, came from outta nowhere. My daughter was right. I had tears in my eyes over the outcome of a football game. Washington State had just held on with a goal-line stand to beat Washington 24-19.

I’ve been watching Apple Cups from a Coug perspective for 50 years, ever since I made a terrific decision to go to Washington State as a freshman in 1974.

This one was a really big deal to all of us who love being Cougs. As you know, along with the Beavers, we were kicked to the curb by 10 defectors who left our conference and dismantled the Pac-12, all chasing millions of dollars while neglecting tradition.

In the aftermath, we discovered that we were unwanted by so-called ‘power’ conferences because we weren’t valuable enough. We stood united with the Beavers in the ‘Pac-2,’ which has recently expanded to a six-team conference with the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State.

In other words, we’re fighting back. We’ve been left behind, trampled and disregarded, and I guess it all caught up to me, validating my long-held beliefs in the existence of football gods and karma.

This wasn’t just an ordinary win over a hated rival, it was a statement, a middle finger - actually two - to the Dawgs and the other schools who sprinted to the cash cows in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.

Surely the football gods wouldn’t let us lose to Washington this year, not under these circumstances. We had been beaten down enough.

But I’ve felt this way many times before and still been disappointed after an Apple Cup that should have gone our way but didn’t. So it was a feeling of ‘I’ll be damned,’ the good guys, that overlooked bunch of Cougs really came through this time with the Dawgs getting what they deserved, a big fat loss as they head into Big Ten play.

If you think I’m crazy now, reduced to tears on a joyous Saturday afternoon, well, get a load of what could happen next if the football gods truly want to make this one for the ages.

Given the Cougs’ 3-0 start, I have allowed myself to fantasize about the rest of the season. It’s one thing to shove it in someone’s face once, but how about a season full of face-shovings, resulting in the Cougs going 12-0 and earning a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Or more reasonably going 11-1 and still being invited to the dance. Improbable, yes, but it’s also possible given a heavily laced schedule with Mountain West Conference opponents. At this point, Washington State figures to be favored in nine of their remaining 10 games, the exception being Boise State on the blue turf on Sept. 28th.

And I’m so petty that I hope Washington has a 2-10 season or a 6-6 season that will be just good enough for Florida to hire U Dub coach Jedd Fisch to replace Billy Napier. Would Fisch leave after one season with the Dawgs? Have you looked at his coaching history? Of course he would, especially for a chance to be head coach at his alma mater.

Why would that matter to me? Because I’ve always liked turmoil and upheaval at Washington. The Huskies have had two athletic directors and a head coach leave already in the last few years, indicating that Washington might not be as great as its fans think it is.

Plus sign me up for as many future headaches as humanly possible for U Dub AD Pat Chun, the turncoat who left Washington State to take a job with our biggest rival, a no-no for most but a yes-yes for a man with no conscience.

The ideal scenario as I see it playing out in the next two months…

The Cougars enter the college football playoff, becoming America’s team in the process with everyone rooting for those little guys from Pullman, Wash., going toe to toe with the best teams in the country after being snubbed and ridiculed. It would be the top college football story of the year.

Meanwhile the Huskies would wonder why they subjected their players to so many air miles after a subpar season and cringing as they watch Fisch in his blue and orange visor at his introductory news conference at Florida followed by Chun coming up with a host of lackluster candidates to replace him.

Yeah, I might live in a make-believe world, but in the Apple Cup, the Cougs took the first step toward all kinds of impossible dreams come true.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. He appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. on Jason Puckett’s podcast at PuckSports.com. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @cougsgo.