SEATTLE – The final score may not show it, but the WSU Cougars were strong defensively in key moments during their 24-19 Apple Cup victory over rival UW Huskies.

Summary | Observations | UW coach: ‘I made a wrong decision’ | WSU coach: Time to retire the trophy and keep it in Pullman?

The biggest play of the day for the defense was undoubtedly the huge stop on fourth-and-goal from inside their own 2-yard line to seal the victory in the final minutes. But it wasn’t just that huge stop. The Cougs played a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense that was ultimately just enough to hold off the Huskies.

WSU gave up 452 total yards and 326 through the air, both of which were well above what WSU produced on offense. However, they held UW to just 4 of 13 third downs and forced the Huskies to settle for field goals almost every time they came into a scoring possession. UW finished with five scoring drives – one more than the Cougars – but came away with four field goals and one touchdown. Meanwhile, WSU produced three TDs and one field goal.

The ability to limit UW to field goals ultimately prevented a few misfires on the best scoring opportunities from stinging the Cougars. WSU failed to convert a fourth down inside the UW 10-yard line on its opening drive and later missed a chip-shot field goal.

“That defense, they could have bent a lot of different ways,” WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. “It wasn’t our best day, but when it counted in that red zone, they came up with some big stops, and obviously the fourth-and-2 will be a legendary play in Apple Cup history.”

The decisive fourth-and-2 stop was made by the veteran duo of sixth-year senior linebacker Kyle Thornton and edge rusher Andrew Edson.

“Those are two consistent guys that you know exactly what you’re going to get,” Dickert said. “The word of the night last night was consistency, and those two guys just embodied that. … Just a (damn) good performance from those two guys. We’re proud of the defense in general, just to be pressured a little bit all day, but also to step up and buckle down when it mattered in the fourth quarter.”

Dickert credited the way his defensive staff disguised their play call on the fourth-and-2 stop. He felt it essentially tricked the UW into calling the option play it did.

“We showed them a look that we’ve done before, but we made a little change to it. I won’t get too deep into it,” Dickert said. “So they thought they were going to get the speed option out the back door and we didn’t give them the blitz that it looked like it was going to be. I thought (UW) made the right decision with what we showed them, but kudos to our defensive staff. That’s two weeks in a row that we just came up with a great plan and our guys just flew around and made plays.”

One of the biggest keys for WSU defensively throughout the game was the ability to slow down UW’s ground game. The Huskies had 126 yards rushing, but had an average of 194.5 in their first two games. Standout running back Jonah Coleman, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Huskies’ first two games, was also limited to just 75 yards.

“It didn’t feel like he was under 100 yards, honestly, but he’s a good player,” Dickert said. “He’s going to be one of those guys that’s tough to stop if they continue to build their program.”

Video: Caple’s Reaction to WSU Cougars’ Apple Cup Win

Follow @ZacHereth