What is WSU up to with its Apple Cup uniforms?

The Washington State Cougars announced on Wednesday, per usual, that they’d be wearing gray helmets, crimson tops and crimson pants for Friday’s Apple Cup against the Washington Huskies.

Usually, a shot of the uniform on a mannequin at the Cougar Football Complex is posted by WSU Equipment’s Twitter account shortly thereafter, but no such photo materialized this week.

Instead, we’ve gotten a couple of curious videos. First, on Monday:

Then, today, on Apple Cup eve (known to everyone else as Thanksgiving):

Hmmmmmm ... 1980s? Gray helmets, crimson tops, crimson pants?

Could we be looking at this on Friday?

WSU has had a handful of famous upsets in Apple Cup history, and 1982 is among the most storied. The Huskies entered the game ranked No. 5 and only needed a win against the Cougs — who had a losing record — to clinch a Rose Bowl appearance. WSU won the game 24-20, keyed in part by a field goal miss from UW’s all-American kicker, Chuck Nelson. It was his first miss all season.

Could WSU be planning on a stripe on the helmet with the “Cougars” script in order to try and channel some of that good juju from 36 years ago? Of course, the funny thing is that the Cougs are the favorite this year, but the guess here is that this probably was planned back when Washington was supposed to be in the position the Cougs currently occupy.

Also, if you’re interested — Jim Walden, the coach of the Cougs in 1982, joined Ian Furness on Seattle’s KJR 950-AM earlier this week. That game was talked about prominently.