SEATTLE – After defeating the rival UW Huskies in the annual Apple Cup rivalry, WSU Cougars head coach Jake Dickert had an interesting suggestion during his post-game press conference.

Firsthand observations of WSU’s 24-19 Apple Cup win over UW

The fourth-year WSU football leader believes it’s time to retire the current version of the rivalry trophy and keep it in Pullman.

“I think we might drop this trophy,” Dickert joked after the Cougs’ 24-19 win Saturday at Lumen Field. “I think it’s a Pac-12 trophy. I think it’s going to be in our home for a long time. We’re going to bring in a new one next year (for) the Big Ten (and) Pac-12. We’re going to put the new score on it.

“So maybe we can drop this and the Pac-12 trophy can stay in Pullman.”

Was Dickert serious? Hard to say. It was perhaps a tongue-in-cheek response. But what was undoubtedly serious was how big a win it was for the 3-0 WSU football program.

After a year of turmoil following the Pac-12’s demise, which saw rival UW join three others in the Big Ten, WSU and Oregon State have been trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild some semblance of the conference. That struggle is starting to take a positive turn following the news earlier this week that four Mountain West schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State — will join the league in 2026.

More good news for the Cougars: They’ve won two of the last four Apple Cups, something the program hasn’t done since winning four of five games between 2004 and 2008.

“This is 1B. It’s 1A and 1B,” Dickert said of where his two career rivalry series wins stand. “… The biggest thing I told these guys in the locker room afterward is this is Week 3, this is not the end of the season. Normally you talk about getting ready for a bowl game and whatever (after the Apple Cup), but we’re just getting started.”

What’s next for the Pac-12 and the Mountain West?

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