Apple Cup first impressions: Washington 45, Washington State 10

In a game Washington had to win to ensure a bowl invitation, the Huskies forced seven turnovers and defensively overwhelmed Washington State for a 45-10 victory in Friday’s Apple Cup in front of 70,438 at Husky Stadium.

The Huskies took advantage of a WSU team that played without star quarterback Luke Falk, who sat out due to a concussion suffered last week.

Washington improved to 6-6 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.

Meanwhile, Washington State fell to 8-4 and 6-3.

Here’s a few thoughts from Friday’s game from Times reporters Stefanie Loh and Percy Allen.

First, Loh:

Luke Falk has been the difference for WSU this season: Backup quarterback Peyton Bender started the day strong, completing his first six passes for 54 yards and leading WSU to a 41-yard field goal by Erik Powell on the opening drive. But ultimately, the redshirt freshman made too many mistakes in his first start (two interceptions, two fumbles) to get the Cougars the victory against a tough UW defense. Bender’s fumble at the end of the first half was costly, the interception to Sidney Jones in the third quarter really blew the game open for UW and the sack and fumble, then a pick-six in the fourth quarter served as the final nail in WSU’s coffin.

Bender didn’t get the help he needed either: Matched up against UW’s Sidney Jones for most of the afternoon, WSU’s leading receiver, Gabe Marks, had a quiet outing (seven catches, 58 yards) and had to leave the game midway through the fourth quarter after suffering what appeared to be a leg injury. Keith Harrington’s fumble early in the first quarter also proved to be a momentum changer. Seven turnovers will kill any team.

The defense couldn’t contain Gaskin: WSU’s bend-but-don’t-break defense finally broke against the Huskies. The Cougars had no answer to some hard running from UW’s Myles Gaskin, who was particularly dominant on an 11-play, 84-yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with his five-yard touchdown run.

And here’s Allen’s take:

Time to give a lot of love to Kwiatkowski: Washington State’s first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch entered Saturday’s game with much fanfare after being chosen as one of 34 finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the best assistant coach. Grinch has done a marvelous job rebuilding a hapless Cougars’ defense that was ranked third in the Pac-12 against the pass before the Apple Cub. Meanwhile, Washington defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has quietly assembled the best defense in the Pac-12 that’s ranked first in the conference in points allowed (18.5) and yards (352.7). The Huskies forced seven  turnovers Friday, including five fumbles and two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Cornerback Sidney Jones had a 69-yard pick-six and linebacker Azeem Victor capped the scoring late in the fourth quarter when he hauled in an interception and ran 27 yards into the end zone. Washington held the Cougars to a season-low (10) points. WSU led the nation averaging 406.9 yards passing, but UW held the Cougars to 288.

Gaskin wears down Cougars: Washington freshman running back Myles Gaskin had 29 rushing yards at halftime and 109 after the break to finish with 138. It’s the seventh time he’s topped 100 yards in a game. Gaskin also became the first freshman in Husky history to run for more than 1,000 yards. With a bowl game remaining he has 1,121 yards, which is the 11th most in UW history.

Browning steady in the win: Aside from an ill-advised throw late in the third quarter that resulted in a touchdown, Washington freshman quarterback Jake Browning displayed great decision making and he was remarkably efficient with his throws. Browning connected on 14 of 20 passes for 203 yards. With Gaskin running and the defense playing well, Browning didn’t have to carry the Huskies like his counterpart Peyton Bender. It was tough sledding for the backup quarterback who had 288 yards on 36-for-58 passing and two interceptions in his first start.