No. 15 UW knows it's the spoiler in the Apple Cup
Washington running back Myles Gaskin celebrates a 4-yard touchdown to strike first against Washington State in the 109th Apple Cup at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash., on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. Washington won, 45-17. (Lindsey Wasson/Seattle Times/TNS)
SEATTLE (AP) — Chris Petersen was in the process of reliving the wild final minutes of No. 15 Washington’s comeback when he was asked if the victory over Utah ranked among the most exciting finishes in his career.
Petersen paused for a moment.
“No. We’ve had some pretty good ones,” he said.
What Petersen is hoping for is that the 33-30 victory over the Utes late Saturday night gives the Huskies a boost heading into the Apple Cup against No. 14 Washington State. Washington was on the verge of entering its rivalry game next Saturday on a two-game losing streak until Jake Browning rallied the Huskies for 10 points in the final 58 seconds to stun Utah.
In the immediate aftermath of the victory, Petersen talked about the Huskies regaining a bit of the swagger that took a hit when they lost to Stanford, which knocked Washington out of contention for the College Football Playoff. The Huskies also can’t win the Pac-12 North because of the loss to the Cardinal.
But the Huskies (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) do know what their role is for this week: Spoiling Washington State’s chances at a division title and finishing off consecutive 10-win seasons for just the fourth time in school history.
“Rivalry games are huge and we always want to beat Wazzu,” Browning said after Saturday’s game. “... Having a 10-win season would be pretty cool. I don’t care what game we’re playing for or whatever. I want to win regardless.”
Washington’s rally for its ninth win was somewhat inexplicable and took help from the Utes. Most notable was Utah’s decision to call timeout with 23 seconds left after Myles Gaskin’s 2-yard run put the Huskies at their own 30. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was trying to be aggressive and give his team a chance to get the ball back with the game tied at 30-all, but the move backfired.
Browning hit Dante Pettis for 18 yards and Andre Baccellia for 31 yards on consecutive plays and Tristan Vizcaino was good on a 38-yard field goal on the final play to give Washington the win. Vizcaino was three of six on kicks of 30 to 39 yards on the season before hitting the game-winner.