Kickoff: Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 PM CT
Location: Husky Stadium
TV: NBC
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): WASH -23.5
Over/under: 50.5

The setup

The 118th Apple Cup is the first used as a season opener and the earliest ever played. A rivalry that lived near Thanksgiving is opening the entire calendar instead.

Personnel snapshot

• Washington State: Kirby Moore enters Year 1 as head coach. 5 starters return—5 on offense and 0 on defense. Key offensive linemen back include Jonny Lester and Ashton Tripp. Washington State’s offense averaged 338.7 yards and 22.5 points per game last season.
• Washington State quarterback: Caden Pinnick is projected to start for Washington State. Last season at UC Davis, he threw for 2,804 yards, 29 TD and 9 INT.
• Washington: Jedd Fisch enters Year 3 as head coach. 11 starters return—7 on offense and 4 on defense. Key offensive linemen back include Drew Azzopardi, Geirean Hatchett, and Landen Hatchett. Washington’s offense averaged 409.9 yards and 34.1 points per game last season.
• Washington quarterback: Demond Williams Jr. returns as Washington’s starting quarterback. Last season, he threw for 2,850 yards, 21 TD and 8 INT.

Three quick analysis points

• The recent trend: Washington leads 77-34-6 and has won 20 of the last 27 Apple Cups. The overall history is lopsided; the recent quarter-century made it even steeper.
• The history: Last year Washington scored 28 fourth-quarter points in a 59-24 win. Demond Williams produced 376 yards and five touchdowns, so Washington State has an extremely specific rematch problem.
• Demond Williams Jr. stayed dangerous under pressure: Demond Williams Jr. completed 56.3% of his passes under pressure last season at 7.4 yards per attempt, with 6 TD and 1 INT (1.0% of throws). From a clean pocket: 74.6%, 9.1 yards per attempt, 19 TD and 7 INT (2.8%). That means pressure alone may not be enough for Washington St; he was still dangerous when hurried.

How the game is decided

Washington has plenty of offense back from last year’s squad and should be able to control this one, as long as the Huskies avoid turnovers and penalties that can disrupt drives.

Prediction

I make final predictions on my TikTok/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook pages @uthinkuknowsports.