PULLMAN, Wash.— Washington State has waited through eight months of work, a long fall camp and the buildup of an Apple Cup countdown clock. On Sunday, the Cougars finally get an answer to what that work has produced.
WSU opens the 2026 season at 1 p.m. PT against No. 17 Washington at Husky Stadium, a nationally televised NBC matchup that will be the first Apple Cup ever played as a season opener. It also marks the head-coaching debut for Kirby Moore, who said his team is embracing both the scale of the rivalry and the routine required to play well in it.
“It matters an incredible amount for everyone in our administration, the football program [and] across the state,” Moore said. “I just really appreciate everyone working together to make sure this game continues.”
For the Cougars, that urgency comes with an encouraging piece of news: They will be close to full strength.
Moore said tight ends Trey Leckner and Hudson Cedarland will be unavailable, with both expected to remain out for an extended period. Otherwise, WSU heads into its opener with a largely intact roster — a welcome development for a program that has often carried significant injury concerns into this rivalry.
The matchup is a first in more ways than one. It is Moore’s first game as WSU’s head coach, his first Sunday game as a coach and the first time the Apple Cup has launched the season. Moore sees the unusual calendar placement as a national-stage opportunity, not a reason to alter the standards of preparation.
“The game is still played between the lines,” Moore said. “It’s about the players. It’s a great opportunity — playing it on Sunday, NBC, 1 p.m., no other game on in football.”
The Cougars have leaned into the significance of the Apple Cup without allowing it to replace the details of a normal game week. Moore described his approach as being “somewhere in the middle” between treating the game like any other and emphasizing its history.
That history has been a point of emphasis throughout the offseason. Former Cougar greats Ryan Leaf and Jack Thompson have spent time around the program, helping introduce newer players to a rivalry that carries weight far beyond the field.
Linebacker Keith Brown said the energy is apparent even for players without deep Washington roots.
“I think guys just feel it,” Brown said. “Even the guys who are new just in the past few months, they just know. Every school and anywhere that they came from before, everyone had their rival. So you know what it is when you’re walking into a rival game.”
Brown, who has played in Washington before during his college career, offered a simple message about the road environment: Be ready to compete.
“When you go in that stadium, it feels like the fans are on top of you and it creates a great atmosphere for football,” Brown said. “So just come ready to compete. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be fun.”
Offensive tackle Ashton Tripp, a Washington native and WSU captain, said the Apple Cup cannot be dismissed as just another game — even if the players must still execute the same fundamentals.
“It’s not just another game,” Tripp said. “It’s Apple Cup. … Come prepared, come ready.”
For younger players and newcomers, Tripp’s advice is to reduce the game to what they have done throughout their careers.
“Block out the noise,” he said. “Even though it’s a rivalry game, it’s still a football game. You’ve been doing this your whole life.”
Washington presents a difficult opening assignment behind quarterback Demond Williams Jr., whose ability to create with both his arm and legs is central to the Huskies’ offense. In last season’s 59-24 Washington win in Pullman, Williams accounted for five touchdowns while throwing for 288 yards and adding 88 rushing yards.
Containing him will require more than one defender making a play, Moore said.
“It really takes all 11 on defense,” Moore said. “And then when you get in those positions, you’ve got to get him on the ground. And if it’s not the first guy, the second guy has got to be really close.”
Brown echoed that point, identifying pocket discipline as a key to the Cougars’ defensive plan.
“We’ve got to do a good job of keeping him in the pocket,” Brown said. “Don’t let him run free as much as he wants. He’s a good player, so I think as long as we can keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball downfield, we’ll be in a good spot.”
WSU’s veterans believe the defensive foundation is there. Brown pointed to run defense and red-zone work as two of the group’s best areas during camp. Defensive tackle and captain Kaden Beatty said stopping the run has been an essential starting point.
“In college football, you’ve got to stop the run,” Beatty said. “If you’re not going to stop the run, you won’t stop anything.”
Beatty is among the returning Cougars who remember last year’s loss, and he did not hide how long it has stayed with him.
“Defensively last year, that wasn’t our standard,” Beatty said. “That wasn’t us. And so I’ve lived with that now for an entire 365 days and some. So now that we can go out and show who we really are … it’s awesome to be able to go in and do it over again and get another shot at it.”
The Cougars will have new faces in prominent roles, including quarterback Caden Pinnick as he prepares for his first start at WSU. Moore said he wants command and communication from Pinnick before the snap, accuracy and sound decisions after it, and the ability to respond when plays break down.
Tripp said Pinnick has handled the responsibility well.
“I think he’s taking the role great,” Tripp said. “He’s composed back there, and I think he’s ready for the job.”
The offensive line, Tripp added, has grown more cohesive as camp moved along.
“Now that it’s a little more solidified, I think we’re rolling now,” Tripp said. “We know what to expect and we know what we’re expected to do.”
For Beatty, a transfer who grew up in Maryland, the investment in the program and rivalry has been complete.
“I’m a Coug now through and through,” Beatty said. “It’s in my blood. I bleed crimson and gray.”
That is the message around the program entering Sunday: New staff, new contributors and a new place on the calendar, but a familiar opportunity to bring the Apple Cup trophy back to Pullman.
“Winning the Apple Cup would mean absolutely everything,” Beatty said. “That is what makes this place go around here.”
Before turning fully to the game, Moore opened his weekly news conference by remembering former WSU coach Bill Doba, who died over the weekend at 85. Moore recalled meeting Doba as a child while accompanying his father, then a high school coach in Prosser.
“He was so gracious with his time and always had a smile on his face,” Moore said. “We’re grateful for everything Coach Doba gave to Washington State and the people that he impacted.”
Sunday gives Moore’s first WSU team a chance to begin its season in the most emotionally charged setting available — with a rivalry, a national audience and a trophy that still means everything to the Cougars.
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