It may have been one of the most vital Apple Cup games in recent memory, but it sure wasn't one of the most exciting.
Washington put this rivalry game to bed early, beating Washington State 45-17 on Friday night.
The No. 5 Huskies jumped out to a 28-3 lead after the first quarter, and although the Cougars had a couple of chances to at least make the game competitive again, they never capitalized on them. Instead, it was more of a slow march toward the inevitability of the final result.
Jake Browning completed 21-of-29 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. As usual, Dante Pettis and John Ross were his favorite targets, combining for 11 catches for 166 yards and catching all three of those touchdowns.
While Myles Gaskin was kept in check, rushing for only 50 yards on 16 carries (with a touchdown), Lavon Coleman picked up the slack, going for 82 yards on 10 carries.
On the other side of things, while Gabe Marks caught 11 passes for 112 yards and a score, the rest of the Washington State offense just couldn't get going. Luke Falk threw for 269 yards but had three interceptions to go with his sole touchdown pass.
Here are four major takeaways from this game.
1. Washington's playoff hopes are very much alive: The Huskies came into the week on the outside looking in yet again, ranked at No. 5 by the College Football Playoff. That number was misleading, however, because two of the four teams ahead of them in the rankings will play one another on Saturday, meaning that Washington just needed to beat Washington State and it will likely climb to the top four in next week's rankings. The first part of that mission is accomplished, and barring some unforeseen change in philosophy, the Huskies will be at No. 4 on Tuesday night.
The next step, of course, is winning the Pac-12. This win over Washington gave the Huskies the North Division crown, and they will now play the winner of the South (either No. 9 Colorado or No. 12 USC) in the Pac-12 Championship. Should Washington win that game and finish the regular season at 12-1 with its sole loss being to a USC team the committee has a lot of respect for, it's hard to envision a scenario in which the Huskies aren't in the top four.
2. Browning is going to be a legit Heisman Trophy contender next season: He flirted with the award this season, or at least he flirted with consideration for it, but his star fizzled in the last few weeks following a poor performance against USC. The struggles continued a bit last week as well when Browning threw two interceptions in Washington's win over Arizona State, but he returned to form against the Cougars on Friday.
Odds are strong that, by the time this season is over, Browning will be over 3,500 yards and 40 touchdowns on the season. Oh, and he's doing this as a sophomore. If Washington reaches the College Football Playoff and Browning keeps playing like this, he's going to enter the 2017 with a ton of hype.
And he's good enough to live up to it.
3. Washington's defense deserves some credit as well: As good as Browning and the Washington offense have been, this team isn't competing for a playoff spot without this defense. It's lost a couple of key players in recent weeks, yet it keeps rolling without them.
The Huskies defense held Washington State to only 4.5 yards per play, and the real key was stuffing the Cougars' run game. The Huskies held Washington State to only 2.7 yards per carry and had two goal-line stops in the game, stuffing Washington State on fourth down inside the one-yard line both times.
It's the Washington offense that puts you on the ground, but it's the defense that makes sure you don't get back up.
4. This is a really sour ending to the season for Washington State: The Cougars got off to a poor start this year, losing to both Eastern Washington and Boise State to open the season, but they bounced back to reel off eight straight wins and become contenders in the Pac-12.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way, as the Cougars lost to both Colorado and Washington the last two weeks, and blowout losses to your in-state rival always hurt a bit. Making matters worse, a lot of the key players on this Washington State team won't be back next season.
It will be really interesting to see if this team continues to move forward next year or if it takes a step backward.
