A day to remember

“After the last two years, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to present one of these to Washington again.”

– Gov. Dan Evans, awarding the Apple Cup trophy to UW after UW’s 1984 win.

PULLMAN – It’s not often Washington State players can claim to dominate the Apple Cup over their careers.

The Cougars have never won three consecutive Cups. In fact, only two classes can even say they won three of four against the Huskies – and those came 30 years apart.

The first passed through Pullman during the Korean War, stopping the Huskies in 1951, ‘53 and ‘54. Then came a 30-year drought, a drought that included two eight-game UW winning streaks.

But the second of those came to an end in 1982, and triggered the last of WSU’s three-in-four success stories.

Another chapter could be written today when WSU invades Husky Stadium for the 100th Apple Cup. With wins in 2004 and 2005, this group of seniors still has a chance to etch its place in WSU lore despite last year’s defeat.

Jim Walden coached the group that won in 1982, ‘83 and ‘85. He’s also observed this class since it came to Pullman, passing on his wry observations each week as the Cougars’ radio color man.

He’s seen the best and the worst WSU has had to offer the past four years and he understands the cleansing powers of the Apple Cup.

“There is one ballgame left where you recover a tremendous amount of lost goals,” Walden said this week, “things that didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted it, just things that you just say over your life this year we wanted to do this, this and this, but that didn’t happen.

“But the one thing we’ve got left that will make that feel more comfortable and acceptable, is if we beat the Dawgs.”

Current Cougars quarterback Alex Brink understands. He and the 19 others playing their final game for WSU know they are on (pardon the pun) the brink of something special.

“Looking back on all the seniors who have gone through here,” Brink said this week, “the guys I’ve had a chance to play with, it’s a special group to have an opportunity to do something like that. It means a lot.

“Being part of this senior group, to send it out like that, would be pretty special.”

Even more special, because like the 1985 group, this year’s seniors never had an opportunity to play in a bowl game, although both the 1983 team (7-4) and the 1984 team (6-5) would have been bowl-eligible by today’s standard.

“The difference with these guys is the expectations of Cougar football, back then compared to today, are much higher,” said Mark Rypien, the Cougars quarterback in 1985 and Super Bowl XXVI MVP in 1992. “We didn’t have the same expectations, so the Husky game was kind of our big hurrah.

“We put all our marbles in this thing because we never did go to many bowl games.”

After three consecutive 10-win seasons and bowl berths – seasons that, ironically enough, each included losses to the Huskies – the bowl expectations in Pullman were ratcheted up.

“Sure we would have loved to have gone to many bowl games, but it didn’t end up that way,” Rypien said. “The pressures weren’t as extreme as they are today. We still had a great experience. We also knew … our last game as seniors was going to end up in Seattle, it was going to end up against our archrivals. What better an environment could you ask for than that?”

Just like it will for the current seniors today. Would a win erase the sting of the past four years and its 19-26 record? Former Cougars great running back Reuben Mayes, a member of all the Husky-defeating early ‘80s teams, thinks it would.

“It was our way to try to finish on a strong note,” said Mayes, who works in the WSU School of Business. “We lost some close games my senior year … and it was our way to bring it all together, especially in the state of Washington. We knew the coaches would be recruiting and this was our way of trying to influence the kids who were on the fence … and help build momentum going into next year.”

Mayes also sees parallels from the 1985 team that defeated UW in Seattle 21-20 to finish 4-7 and this year’s 4-7 team.

“We had players who would shine in certain games,” Mayes said, “but never pull it all together, so I see similarities in that way, not totally consistent all the time. But having some bright spots.”