PULLMAN –Danny Shelton, the Washington Huskies’ 339-pound bear of a defensive lineman, showed up bare-footed and bare-chested for the first fight before his last Apple Cup.
This was Saturday morning, in a light snowstorm. Washington players and coaches held a short walk-through in the parking lot of the Best Western University Inn in Moscow, Idaho. Shelton didn’t bother with shoes or a shirt.
As a small audience of UW fans looked on, Shelton and other shirtless players had a playful snowball fight–first with each other and then with some young fans.
Saturday night, in the latest and coldest Apple Cup on record, the fun continued for Shelton and the UW defense. The Huskies dominated Washington State en route to a 31-13 victory before a crowd of 32,952 at Martin Stadium.
The temperature dipped to 18 degrees in the fourth quarter. By then, the Huskies’ freeze out of the Cougars offense was in full effect. By then, the Cougars had no fight left.
The Huskies wrapped up the first regular season of the Chris Petersen regime with an 8-5 record (4-5 in the Pac-12) thanks in large part to one of UW’s most impressive defensive performances of the season. The Huskies forced three turnovers and held the Cougars (3-9, 2-7) off the scoreboard until the 9:55 mark of the fourth quarter.
Shelton and UW’s veteran defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage much of the night, and Kevin King and John Ross III each had the first interceptions of their careers as UW’s young secondary more than held its own against the nation’s top passing offense.
The Cougars failed on three straight fourth-down attempts to open the game–all in UW territory–which killed any early momentum they had. They finished 1 for 10 on third-down attempts and 2 of 5 on fourth down.
Dwayne Washington had a 51-yard touchdown run on UW’s second play from scrimmage and Kasen Williams hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass–his first touchdown pass in more than two months–late in the first half to give the Huskies a 14-0 halftime lead.
On UW’s second play in the second half, Dwayne Washington burst 60 yards for a touchdown, and the rout was on. Cameron Van Winkle added a field goal and Cyler Miles threw his second touchdown pass to Joshua Perkins early in the fourth quarter to make it 31-0.
Miles finished 25 of 39 for 249 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Dwayne Washington (135 yards) had his third straight 100-yard rushing game.
Washington State redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Falk was 27 of 49 for 355 yards, with 156 of those coming in the fourth quarter, after UW had put the game out of reach.
The win was Petersen’s 100th in his ninth season as a head coach. He has a 100-17 career record.
You could say the Huskies were ready for a fight coming into Pullman.
The turf at Martin Stadium, dusted with a light snow, was cleared about a half an hour before players from both teams started to trickle out for early warmups. About a dozen Washington State players jogged out bare-chested, and there was the usual barking between the two teams.
Just before the 7:37 p.m. kickoff, UW players danced and bounced onto the field, prompting WSU players to rush toward midfield and do the same. There was more jawing, but no apparent contact between players.
Nothing will be official for another week, but UW could get an invitation in the Cactus Bowl, scheduled for Jan.2 in Tempe, Ariz.
The Huskies could wind up in an at-large bowl bid, with Armed Forces Bowl (Jan. 2 in Fort Worth, Texas) or the Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dec. 26) also possibilities. Their bowl destination hinges on the outcome of the Pac-12 Championship Game between Oregon and Arizona on Friday.
