Eventually, Washington turned this Apple Cup into a rout

A tense game through three quarters became a blowout in the fourth.

PULLMAN, Wash. — An hour before kickoff, this rivalry felt at least something like November, no matter the temperature.

Washington State’s students had waited in the September heat to reserve the best seats in Martin Stadium’s northwest corner, and now they were duty-bound to boo anything in purple.

Geirean Hatchett was the first Washington player out of the tunnel. The sixth-year senior peered up and exchanged words with a young man in crimson-striped overalls before turning away, smiling. Landen Hatchett removed his helmet and raised both hands in the air, motioning for more noise from the opposing crowd. Senior tight end Quentin Moore and a few others joined in the exhortation, until eventually, the students responded with that time-honored chant that begins with “F” and ends with “Huskies.”

It might have been 81 degrees at kickoff of the Apple Cup, but certain traditions will never die.