SEATTLE — Washington opened the 2026 season Sunday by accomplishing the first objective on the schedule: keep the Apple Cup in Seattle.
The No. 17 Huskies defeated Washington State 24–10 at Husky Stadium, improving to 1–0 and retaining the rivalry trophy for a second consecutive year. But unlike last season’s 59–24 rout in Pullman, this Apple Cup was anything but comfortable.
For nearly three quarters, Washington looked like a team still working its way through opening-day mistakes. The offense struggled to establish rhythm, penalties repeatedly stalled drives, and Washington State stayed within striking distance well into the fourth quarter.
Then Demond Williams Jr. took over.
Williams completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown while also leading Washington with 61 rushing yards and another score. When the Huskies most needed their quarterback, he delivered.
After Washington State cut UW’s lead to 10–7 early in the fourth quarter, Williams immediately answered. He connected with Rashid Williams for a 44-yard gain that moved the Huskies to the WSU 2-yard line, then found Williams again for a 1-yard touchdown two plays later.
Later, with Washington protecting a 17–10 lead, Williams helped engineer another decisive drive, including a 35-yard completion to Chris Lawson. Jayden Limar finished it with an 11-yard touchdown run with 2:18 remaining.
Washington scored 14 points in the fourth quarter after managing only 10 through the first three.
“I don’t think we started the way we wanted to, for sure,” Williams said afterward. “But when we needed it the most in a 10-7 ballgame and being able to respond in back-to-back drives, I think it just speaks volumes of our team.”
Defense Carries the Huskies Early
While Washington’s offense searched for consistency, the defense gave the Huskies time to find it.
Washington State finished with just 242 total yards, including 142 through the air and 100 rushing. The Cougars were particularly ineffective on third down, failing to convert a single offensive third-down opportunity.
UW also forced three turnovers.
Freshman cornerback Jeron Jones recorded the first interception of the season when he grabbed a deflected Caden Pinnick pass in the second quarter and returned it eight yards to the WSU 21. Washington converted the short field into Williams’ 5-yard touchdown run and a 10–0 lead.
Isaiah Ward later recovered a fumble, and Alex McLaughlin added a fourth-quarter interception.
The defensive performance was particularly significant because of the youth Washington put on the field. Young defenders including Jones, Derek Colman-Brusa and Ramzak Fruean were thrust into prominent roles in the season opener and generally responded well.
Head coach Jedd Fisch praised that side of the ball afterward.
“I want to start with congratulating our defense,” Fisch said. “I thought they had an outstanding game.” He specifically noted Washington State’s inability to convert third downs.
That may ultimately be the most encouraging takeaway from Sunday.
Washington entered the season with legitimate questions about whether a rebuilt defense — particularly a young front — would be ready for Big Ten competition.
One game cannot answer that question completely, but allowing 242 yards and creating three turnovers is a strong opening statement.
The Problem: 130 Penalty Yards
For all the positives defensively, Washington made life considerably harder than it needed to be.
The Huskies were penalized 12 times for 130 yards.
Washington State, by comparison, committed six penalties for 50 yards.
The penalties extended Cougar possessions, erased productive plays and consistently prevented Washington from building momentum.
Fisch did not attempt to minimize the issue afterward.
“We’ve got to clean up our penalties,” he said.
That will almost certainly be one of the primary areas of emphasis this week.
Against Washington State, the Huskies had enough talent to overcome 130 yards in penalties.
Against the better teams on the Big Ten schedule, they may not.
Goal-Line Frustration
Washington also left points on the field.
The most glaring example came immediately before halftime.
Leading 10–0, UW reached the Washington State 1-yard line and faced fourth-and-goal. Rather than take the field goal, Washington attempted to punch the ball in with Limar.
The Cougars stopped him.
Instead of potentially entering halftime ahead 17–0 — or at minimum 13–0 — Washington State went to the locker room having produced a goal-line stand and still possessing a realistic path back into the game.
Fisch was visibly frustrated.
During his halftime television interview, he called Washington’s offensive performance to that point “embarrassing” and said the Huskies needed to run the football better and finish drives.
The offense did eventually respond, but not immediately.
Neither team scored in the third quarter.
Washington State finally broke through early in the fourth when Pinnick completed a nine-play, 62-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
Suddenly, it was 10–7.
And Husky Stadium had become uncomfortable.
Williams Responds Like a Veteran
That was when Williams demonstrated why expectations surrounding him are so high.
Washington needed an answer.
It took only four plays.
The Huskies went 75 yards in 2:10, highlighted by Williams’ deep completion to Rashid Williams before the two connected again for the touchdown.
Later, Williams completed all six of his fourth-quarter passes for 115 yards. Washington averaged approximately 12 yards per play in the final period.
That ability to play his best football when the game tightened may ultimately matter more than anything Williams did during the first three quarters.
There will be afternoons when Washington’s running game stalls.
There will be afternoons when protection breaks down.
And there will certainly be afternoons in the Big Ten when Washington enters the fourth quarter separated from its opponent by one possession.
On Sunday, Williams showed he can be the player who changes that equation.
Washington State Deserves Some Credit
The 24–10 final score also shouldn’t obscure Washington State’s effort.
The Cougars’ defensive front consistently created pressure and held Washington’s running backs to roughly 3.3 yards per carry. WSU produced two fourth-down stops and prevented Washington from turning its early advantages into a runaway game.
New Cougar coach Kirby Moore had his team prepared to compete.
Quarterback Caden Pinnick finished 16 of 25 for 142 yards and added 61 rushing yards, including WSU’s lone touchdown. But turnovers and an inability to stay on the field on third down ultimately doomed the Cougars.
Washington State also missed field goals from 52 and 32 yards before Jack Stevens eventually connected from 42 in the fourth quarter.
For much of the afternoon, the Cougars did enough defensively to give themselves a chance.
Washington simply had more answers late.
The Huskies Central Take
Washington fans can look at Sunday in two very different ways.
The pessimist sees a team ranked No. 17 nationally struggling for three quarters against an opponent it was expected to handle comfortably. The Huskies committed 12 penalties, failed twice on fourth down and produced only 10 points through three quarters.
Those concerns are legitimate.
But there is another side.
Washington held its opponent to 242 yards.
The Huskies forced three turnovers.
Several young defensive players looked capable of contributing immediately.
And when the Apple Cup became a one-score game in the fourth quarter, Washington’s quarterback responded with two touchdown drives.
Good teams do not always play good games.
Sometimes they simply win them.
Washington did that Sunday.
Fisch himself seemed to understand both realities afterward: the Apple Cup trophy mattered, but the performance wasn’t yet at the level Washington expects.
The Huskies are 1–0.
The Apple Cup remains in Seattle.
And perhaps most importantly, Washington has a long list of correctable mistakes without having to absorb a loss to learn from them.
That’s not a bad way to start a season.
But if Washington truly intends to compete near the top of the Big Ten, Sunday should be viewed as a beginning — not a standard.
The Huskies return to Husky Stadium Saturday, Sept. 12, against Utah State before hosting Eastern Washington and opening Big Ten play against Minnesota later this month.
