Whatever happens in Saturday’s 94th Apple Cup between the two Washington schools, the seventh-ranked Ducks will benefit.
Should the Huskies rebound from their disappointing loss at Oregon State and beat the Cougars at home, Oregon would be guaranteed at least a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks could then lose at home to Oregon State on Dec. 1 and still gain the Pacific-10 Conference’s top bowl bid because they have the tiebreaker advantages.
Should the Cougars come away with a win at Husky Stadium, though, the Ducks would continue to gain more points in the Bowl Championship Series rankings. A Washington State victory would keep the Cougars high in the BCS standings, where they’re currently No. 8, and thus give Oregon “quality win” points for beating a team ranked in the BCS top-15.
“I don’t think I can root for either team,” Oregon senior tight end Justin Peelle said.
Of course, the 16th ranked Huskies (7-2, 5-2 Pac-10) and the No. 9 Cougars (9-1, 6-1) aren’t thinking about the Ducks this week. They’re fired up for their annual rivalry game, which this season, unlike many previous encounters, pits two bowl-bound teams.
“It promises to be an electric atmosphere given that Washington State is having such a wonderful season,” Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel said. “They have not only been good, they have been very, very opportunistic and are a team that just finds ways to win.”
A big reason that the Cougars have found those wins is quarterback Jason Gesser, who suffered a concussion in last week’s win over Arizona State. His status was unclear earlier in the week, but on Wednesday, Cougar head coach Mike Price said that he expects “every player to be ready.”
The list of probable Cougar players for Saturday, including Gesser, also contains running back Dave Minnich (knee surgery on Oct. 10), linebacker James Price (knee and ankle surgery) and running back John Tippins (shoulder injury against ASU).
“There is something magical about how players recover from injuries when the Apple Cup is the next game,” Price said.
In this season of wild Pac-10 contests where the league favorite has seemed to change by the week, Washington State has easily been the biggest surprise. After all, in the preseason Pac-10 poll, the media picked the Cougars to finish last, behind Arizona and California.
“It shows what the writers know,” Neuheisel said.

Foster probably out
UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster will most likely not play this Saturday against USC because the Bruins, as of Tuesday, have yet to submit their report regarding Foster’s “extra benefit” to the NCAA. Foster, who hasn’t practiced this week, didn’t play against Oregon after being penalized for driving around a 2002 Ford Expedition that belonged to actor-director Eric Laneuville.