Apple Cup 2016: Live game updates for No. 5 UW vs. No. 23 WSU

The Pac-12 North’s berth to the Pac-12 Championship Game is on the line today as No. 5 Washington and No. 23 Washington State face off in one of the more anticipated Apple Cups in the series’ 109-year history.

Will it be the Cougs who upset their more highly ranked cross-state rivals for the right to play for a spot in the Rose Bowl? Or will it be the Huskies who keep their dream alive for a spot on the College Football Playoff?

We’ll update you throughout the game with the big plays and developments.

The Cougars win the toss and defer. And we’re underway!

11:33 1st quarter: UW scores the first TD on a Myles Gaskin 2-yard run
The first drive of the game doesn’t turn out real well for WSU, which gets off to an ominous start when the Cougars give up a pair of third down conversions — the first one coming early, the second one coming on the TD run. In between, there was a 50-yard completion from wide receiver Dante Pettis to tight end Darrell Daniels on UW’s first trick play of the game.
UW 7, WSU 0

7:45 1st quarter: UW scores again on an 18-yard pass from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis.
The Cougars were just getting started on offense when Jamal Morrow fumbled the ball at the end of an 11-yard run. A few plays later — on 2nd-and-goal from the 18 after a pair of UW penalties — Browning had all day to find Pettis coming across the end zone.
UW 14, WSU 0

5:49 1st quarter: WSU is on the board with a 37-yard Erik Powell field goal
WSU jumpstarted it second drive with a 41-yard return. After Luke Falk found Robert Lewis for a 34-yard completion over the middle, the drive stalled when Isaiah Johnson-Mack and C.J. Dimry dropped consecutive passes on second and third down from the UW 20.
UW 14, WSU 3

4:59 1st quarter: Jake Browning hits Dante Pettis for a 61-yard touchdown
Jake Browning had all day, and Dante Pettis outjumped Darrien Molton for the ball before stepping out of Molton’s tackle. Three drives, three TDs for UW. This is a disaster for WSU.
UW 21, WSU 3

0:17 1st quarter: Jake Browning to John Ross for a 6-yard TD
It’s a fade in the corner that Molton was powerless to stop, and the rout is on ... after one quarter. Washington is on pace for more than 1,100 total yards.
UW 28, WSU 3

8:16 2nd quarter: UW stuffs WSU on 4th and goal
After the WSU defense finally got a stop, Jamal Morrow grabbed a short, line-drive punt and returned it 64 yards to the Washington 6-yard-line. A false start on first down pushed it back to the 11, and WSU ran it four consecutive times, the final attempt from the 2-yard-line by Gerard Wicks coming up about an inch short.
UW 28, WSU 3

6:07 2nd quarter: WSU comes back with a TD off a turnover
Things were looking even more bleak than before after WSU was unable to convert a TD from the Washington 6, but Shalom Luani came up with his first big play of the game when he forced Ross into a fumble, which was recovered by Jalen Thompson.

After Luke Falk picked up a critical third down with his legs, Morrow ran it in from the 1-yard-line.

Signs of life?
UW 28, WSU 10

3:21 2nd quarter: Levon Coleman scores UW’s 5th TD on a 22-yard run
The good vibes were short lived, as UW drove right back down the field for 85 yards in just 7 plays. Coleman ran virtually untouched into the end zone.
UW 35, WSU 10

0:14 2nd quarter: Luke Falk intercepted in the end zone
When you talk yourself into ways your team could potentially get back into a game, you tell yourself things like “if they can score here and then score on the first possession of the second half, it’s a game.” WSU drove 66 yards in 11 plays to the UW 9-yard-line, but the drive ended when Falk inexplicably lofted a pass into triple coverage and it was easily picked off to end the threat.
UW 35, WSU 10

HALFTIME STATS

8:45 3nd quarter: Luke Falk finds Gabe Marks for a 9-yard TD
Badly needing a TD to give any kind of hope, Falk finds his favorite receiver in the back of the end zone on a familiar route combination to narrow the gap.

It capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive. Every yard is hard against this Washington defense.
UW 35, WSU 17

0:37 3rd quarter: UW stones WSU on the goal line ... again
After getting a defensive stop, the Cougs went back to work on offense, driving 81 yards in 17 plays all the way down to the UW 1-yard-line. Faced with another 4th-and-goal from the 1, WSU tried to run the ball again. And UW’s stout defensive line held up, again. Gerard Wicks never made it back to the line of scrimmage, and the Cougs turned the ball over on downs, again.
UW 35, WSU 17

10:56 4th quarter: UW caps a 99-yard drive with another Coleman TD
It was probably only a matter of time, but the UW offense woke back up after posting just 13 yards in the third quarter. The WSU defense again struggled to tackle, and Coleman fought his way into the end zone for a 15-yard score.
UW 42, WSU 17

8:36 4th quarter: UW tacks on a 41-yard FG
WSU’s failure to convert on 4th down in UW territory results in three more points for the Huskies.
UW 45, WSU 17

And after another Luke Falk interception, it’s a final.