WSU Football | Moving toward the Apple Cup

Washington State Cougar football will spend this week preparing for their final game of this season.

The Apple Cup.

Coach Paul Wulff and his staff will be focused on game preparation to take on the Washington Huskies next Saturday. 

Cougars and Huskies. Put those guys out on a football field and you'll see a couple of teams that bring out the best in each other. This year should be no exception.

There's one game circled on the schedule of every Cougar and Husky year in, year out.

The Apple Cup.

Washington vs. Washington State is a game which is always important to both teams, regardless of their repsective season records.

Coming off a bye week, Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian and his team spent last week letting players heal some of the bumps and bruises accumulated over the course of this season.

Washington State heads into the game having played well against Oregon State for three quarters, running out of gas in the final period.

Coach Wulff was pleased at the improved play by the offensive line. Having the expected starters coming out of fall camp back on the field together makes a big difference. Yes, offensive line players are getting healthy once again. Add to that the emotion generated from the teammates of Kenny Alfred and Reed Lesuma playing their last home game at Martin Stadium was a factor contributing to improved blocking as well. Alfred and Lesuma are two of the most respected players on the WSU roster. No question the other linemen wanted to do their best for those two.

One of the reasons Lesuma started against Oregon State was senior day. Making the most of his opportunity, he played very well and earned the praise of Coach Wulff. In fact, Wulff said Lesuma might see more playing time against the Huskies Saturday having worked well with the rest of the offensive line.

Though the Washington State defense gave up 42 points to the Beavers, Coach Wulff thought they played well for most of the game. He said they looked tired in the fourth quarter having spent too much time on the field. Lacking depth at every position on defense, there just weren't enough players to rotate and keep the defense fresh.

Having to start and go the entire game with senior Kevin Lopina, a quarterback who hadn't played since the Hawaii game until the second half two weeks ago, Coach Wulff was disappointed about the number of good opportunities his offense left on the field and didn't convert. Lopina is a different style of quarterback compared to Marshall Lobbestael and Jeff Tuel which probably contributed to inconsistency by the offense last Saturday.  It's a challenge for the offense to gel with so many changes at the quarterback position the past few weeks.

The biggest surprise in the Oregon State game for Coach Wulff was the outstanding play of Easton Johnson. Wulff couldn't ever recall one of his players switching over from offense to defense during the week and performing at such a high level on game day. Johnson has been with the offense all season at wide receiver. Last Thursday he was asked to switch to the defensive backfield because of players lost to injury and turned out to be a secret weapon of sorts. Seemed as though he was in on almost every play Saturday, registering an impressive 10 tackles including one for a loss. Coach Wulff mentioned the possibility that fifth-year senior wide receiver Colin Huemmer might be asked to take some reps with the defense during practice this week as a possible backup Saturday. Or would Huemmer be another secret weapon?

The update on player injuries Sunday evenng by Coach Wulff wasn't encouraging.

Junior Brandon Jones' back issues that took him out of the OSU game in the first quarter may have him missing the Apple Cup. Jones has been a top performer on defense the entire season. He's played in all 11 games this year and is one of the top tacklers with a total of 37, an interception and a fumble recovery. Jones is from Seattle so you know playing in an Apple Cup was important to him.

Another junior, Johnny Forzani, is questionable because of a concussion he took on his fourth kickoff return last Saturday. Should he not be cleared to play against Washington, Coach Wulff would be without his best deep threat receiver. Forzani has done a great job on special teams all season where he would be missed as well. But when it comes to a player suffering a concussion, the WSU staff will be very cautious before clearing him to play.

One thing about the Apple Cup, Coach Wulff won't have to be too concerned about motivating his players.

Best college football rivalry game in the nation?

Washington State vs. Washington - The Apple Cup

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