Excerpt: 'Too Good to be Through' explores Apple Cup history in depth

With original reporting and details, this excerpt from Bud Withers' new book chronicles the final five editions of Chris Petersen's 6-0 Apple Cup record — and Jimmy Lake's own rivalry with Mike Leach.

Jimmy Lake celebrates Washington’s 2019 Apple Cup win with the Huskies’ defensive backs.

The Chris Petersen era of Washington football was one of the most successful in school history — if relatively short, at six years. His teams handled the Apple Cup famously, winning all six and never getting a stern challenge from Cougar teams in what was also a prominent period in WSU lore.

It would seem almost impossible that Petersen’s stranglehold over the Cougars could be a subplot, but that's what it felt like when WSU coach Mike Leach and Petersen's defensive mastermind, Jimmy Lake, conducted a running verbal joust in those years.

As one part of his recent book on the Apple Cup football rivalry, ‘Too Good to Be Through,’ longtime Seattle sportswriter Bud Withers details the war of words between Leach and Lake, excerpted here:

2015

Washington 45, WSU 10

By its very nature, owing in part to the swerving hormones of 20-year-old kids, college football is a tangled week-to-week jigsaw of surprises, breakthroughs and non sequiturs.

Just not in the Apple Cup in the Chris Petersen era at Washington. While most games in the century-and-a-quarter rivalry have their own distinct signature, the six-pack of the Petersen years is just one big purple blur, each game almost indistinguishable from the others.

For much of that, we can thank Jimmy Lake. Self-assured — OK, brash — confident-to-the-core-in-his-defensive-backs Jimmy Lake.

But the story of that period wasn’t just Lake. It was Lake versus Mike Leach, a subplot so commanding that it overshadowed the fact Chris Petersen never lost an Apple Cup, and in fact, didn’t come close.

To set the stage: Petersen brought Lake, an Eastern Washington grad, from Boise State. Before that, he had spent five seasons in the NFL, and had done one season as a DBs coach at Washington in 2004 under Keith Gilbertson.

“The imbalance of their pass-to-run ratio really threw me,” Lake told me in 2022. “I was coming from the National Football League two years before that. You had to stay balanced.”

Initially, the Husky plan was fairly simple: Force the Cougars to throw underneath, deploy only three defensive linemen, be physical with receivers and have a lot of eyes on the quarterback.

By ’15, in the second year of the Petersen/Lake regime, the defense got more sophisticated. Lake was now studying receivers’ splits in a given formation and began to be able to forecast the routes they would run.

Referring to the Apple Cup of the previous year, Lake said, “I’m thinking they’ve got to change it up. They were doing the exact same thing they were doing the year before. Typically, coaches tweak things: ‘Let’s add this.’ But it was exactly the same.”

The Cougars were plagued by an old, recurring problem — their quarterback was hurt for the Apple Cup. Luke Falk, in his first full season as the starter, sustained a concussion the week before and Peyton Bender was the replacement. That helps explain how one team that was 6-2 in the Pac-12 entering the game [WSU] was an eight-point underdog to one that was 3-5.

“That’s another part of the story,” Lake said. “Because of the style of offense, they didn’t protect their quarterback very well.”

The day was a complete disaster for the Cougars, who committed seven turnovers, including two interceptions and two lost fumbles by Bender.

Washington led 17-3 at half, keyed by a 26-yard touchdown run by Chico McClatcher of Federal Way. The Husky defense then had a rollicking second half with three scores of its own – a 69-yard pick-six by cornerback Sidney Jones; a 28-yard fumble return by safety Darren Gardenhire; and a 27-yard romp with another Bender interception by linebacker Azeem Victor. The Cougars’ 288 yards passing came on 58 attempts.

On the other side of the ball, Washington’s Myles Gaskin of O’Dea High carried 32 times for 138 yards and set UW freshman season records for touchdowns (10) and yardage (1,121).

As in Apple Cups to come, the day became notable for what Leach said afterward.

“For whatever reason, our guys played wide-eyed,” he said. “We’ve beaten teams that are considerably better than Washington this year, but the thing about it is, we go in here wide-eyed and act like it’s special.”

Leach was calling out his own team, but the fact he looped in the Huskies in his analysis touched a nerve on Montlake.

“I heard those quotes,” Lake said, “and that right there gave me all the motivation I needed every year going to face the Cougs.”

By now, the Lake-Leach contretemps was heating toward a boil. Lake went on the radio and called the Cougars’ offense “basketball on grass,” and said it didn’t meet the standard for “tough, hard-nosed football.” To which Leach would respond, “I don’t care what he thinks.”

2016

Washington 45, WSU 17

Enter the Krispy Kreme caper.

It wasn’t as though enough wasn’t riding on the ’16 Apple Cup. But UW assistant Jimmy Lake introduced an added incentive, in the form of a potential several boxes of doughnuts for his defensive backs.

They were an accomplished group: Safeties Budda Baker of Bellevue and Taylor Rapp of Bellingham’s Sehome High; and cornerbacks Kevin King of Oakland and Sidney Jones of Diamond Bar, California, all future NFL players.

And they had a lot to play for on Black Friday in Pullman. Each team was 7-1 in Pac-12 play, so the winner would go on to a spot in the league-championship game. The Huskies were No. 6-ranked, and the Cougars’ No. 23 rating was dimmed only by the fact they had opened the season 0-2, with losses to Eastern Washington and Boise State.

Sunday morning of game week, Lake came into the office, switched on video of the Cougars, and “We were seeing the same formations, splits, the same routes being called. No question, it was very surprising.”

Lake, who by now was co-defensive coordinator, issued a challenge to his troops: If they could reach a certain number of points on a system based on interceptions and pass deflections over three days of practice, Lake would spring for Krispy Kremes.

“I’d put pictures of Krispy Kreme doughnuts all around the defensive-backs room,” Lake said. “It would come down to the last practice to get the last points. It was very intense. The guys took it as a challenge.”

An objective observer would conclude the Huskies had a talent edge; over the next three NFL drafts, they would have 18 players chosen, to five for the Cougars. Still, what transpired at Martin Stadium seemed illogical.

In a blindingly efficient first quarter, the Huskies rolled up 274 yards and had a 28-3 lead, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions.

A 50-yard pass from receiver Dante Pettis to tight end Darrell Daniels set up Gaskins’ 2-yard run for the first score. After a WSU fumble, sophomore quarterback Jake Browning hit Pettis in the back of the end zone from 18 yards away for a 14-0 lead.

Two more Browning passes — 61 yards to Pettis and 6 to John Ross, the Long Beach, Calif. speedster — became two more touchdowns for the gaping first-quarter lead.

“Our guys knew we had a lot at stake,” Petersen told me. “I think Washington State did, too. That was a really good Washington State team. Our guys were just ready to play.”

The Cougars pushed back to within 35-17 in the third quarter and were on the verge of making it interesting with a drive inside the UW 5. But on fourth-and-1, Gerard Wicks was stuffed by Baker and lineman Elijah Qualls, and the Huskies put it on ice with a 10-play, 98-yard march, culminated by Lavon Coleman’s 15-yard run.

Washington won, 45-17, with 510 net yards. Falk completed 33 of 50 for WSU but had three interceptions.

Gabe Marks, Los Angeles product and WSU’s career leader for receptions and yardage, had a biting assessment of his team, referencing some red-zone misfires: “We’re soft.”

If WSU faithful were looking for comforting words, they needed to seek out somebody other than Jimmy Lake, who twitted them by saying the Apple Cup was the UW defense’s “favorite game of the year,” and that “I hope the Cougars continually do what they’re doing.”

Side note: WSU’s legendary Bob Robertson, then 87, missed only his second Apple Cup behind the play-by-play mike with what was described as a mild illness.

Washington went on to thrash Colorado in the Pac-12 title game, annexing a spot in the College Football Playoff, where it fell 24-7 to Alabama in the semifinals. The Cougars bookended an odd season — an 0-2 start; an 0-3 finish, sandwiching eight straight wins — with a perplexing 17-12 loss in the Holiday Bowl against a depleted Minnesota team.

2017

Washington 41, WSU 14

There was ample reason to think it might be different this time. For the first time since 2002, the Cougars were the higher-ranked team (14^th, to UW’s 15^th). In the second half of the season, the Huskies had dealt with significant injuries to six starters. Washington had some key losses from 2016 in the secondary, and aside from Dante Pettis, their receivers were ordinary.

And yes, the Huskies had a veteran hand in Jake Browning at quarterback, but the Cougars could match his experience with Luke Falk.

But, as Apple Cup week progressed, Jimmy Lake would have told you — and it’s probably surprising he didn’t — not to be surprised if nothing had changed materially.

“Mike Leach had shown he was not going to run the football,” Lake said. "We had multiple coverages that we made simple for our defense, but it looked like hundreds of different defenses for an offense. The reason we were able to do that was, we knew he wasn’t going to run the football.”

As grating as WSU fans might have found Lake, they had to save some of their bile for their own head coach. Leach was beyond stubborn about changing anything on offense. Forget the notion of something dramatic like a pass off a reverse or a flea-flicker. The Cougars repeatedly were faced with five-man boxes, yet they generally spurned running the ball.

Ergo, a final of Washington 41, WSU 14. The Cougars were thus denied a share of the Pac-12 North title, which would have meant a place in the league title game.

The Huskies had the benefit of two future pros, Californians Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, anchoring their defensive line. Behind them, Washington kept everything in front and as prescribed by its defensive coaches, was physical.

It was 34-0 entering the fourth quarter. Gaskin had a big night, rushing for four touchdowns as part of his 192-yard output on 25 carries. Meanwhile, the Huskies sacked Falk five times and he threw three interceptions.

Washington rushed for 328 yards against a defense that entered the Apple Cup ranked No. 2 in the conference behind the Huskies, having allowed only 304 yards per game. On the other hand, WSU rushed for a negative 24 yards.

The game marked the final home appearance for UW’s radio play-by-play voice, Bob Rondeau. The school gave away 10,000 bobbleheads, complete with a “Touchdown, Washington” call, only one of several tributes. Fans in the north stands executed a card section spelling out “Thanks, Bob” and the Huskies announced they would name their home broadcast booth after him.

2018

Washington 28, WSU 15

Among the challenges for Washington State in the Petersen era – along with trying to run against Vita Vea and throw against Budda Baker – was this: They seemed to grope for the right mental mind-frame, trying to find the sweet spot between Mike Leach’s less-than-fever pitch and his pet description for a team so amped it couldn’t execute: “Frantic.”

Perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. But there’s no question they needed to have their psyche fine-tuned so it wasn’t on the list of other deficits they were facing.

When I sat down for coffee in Redmond with Scott Pelluer two years before his death in 2023, the former Cougar linebacker and assistant coach at both schools wrestled with the enigma of Leach and Apple Cups. Then he blurted out, “Leach didn’t give a shit, you know?”

In ’18, it was there for the Cougars again. They came into the game 10-1 and having a magical year under transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew. That earned WSU a No. 7 ranking, to the Huskies’ 16^th, carved via a 7-3 record. Washington State was a 2 ½-point favorite.

The Cougars had the top scoring offense in the Pac-12 at 40.5 points a game, Washington the best scoring defense at 16.6 points. It was the third straight year, but only the eighth time in history, both teams were part of the AP Top 25.

What transpired on a snowscape at Martin Stadium was another UW victory, yet a narrative turned upside down.

Snow was always considered the Cougars’ weather, dating prominently to the legendary 1992 Drew Bledsoe Snow Bowl, and to a lesser extent, some games of that era when snowflakes accompanied WSU victories. But on this occasion, the snow clearly curbed receivers’ ability to execute crisp routes, exacerbated against a defense accustomed to keeping everything in front.

That, and another lethal dose of Myles Gaskin, propelled the Huskies to a 28-15 victory.

“It really did restrict what we called [on offense], and we’re not real big on the defensive front and it mitigated our speed,” Leach said.

For a short breath, even Lake conceded that the snow played to the Huskies’ favor, saying, “Now obviously, with the conditions, it handcuffs you a little bit, and that was definitely to our advantage.”

He couldn’t resist zinging Leach yet again, saying, “They do the same thing year in and year out. This is five years in a row now. So it makes it really easy to game-plan.”

In 2023, I asked Petersen if he was uncomfortable with Lake’s ongoing verbal assault against Leach’s life’s work.

“Not good,” he said. “I thought there was no purpose to that whatsoever. I’m surprised Jimmy came out [although] he’s a really competitive person. We’d been together a long time. He kind of knows how I like to operate. We had a conversation about it, like . . . what would be the purpose of that?”

The message didn’t exactly take. Lake told me, “The style of offense they [ran] makes you soft.”

He recalls a near-interception by UW safety Taylor Rapp on Minshew’s first pass attempt and says, “Minshew looked shook. He never got settled.”

Gaskin entered the evening needing 39 yards to reach the 5,000-yard plateau. He had two short scoring runs in the first half as Washington held a 14-7 lead at the break.

Early in the third quarter, UW tight end Hunter Bryant of Issaquah caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Fuller, a receiver, but the Cougars’ Hunter Dale mitigated that damage by hauling a blocked conversion attempt 75 yards for two points. James Williams then edged the Cougars within 20-15 with 4:44 left in the third quarter with his second short touchdown.

But with 12:30 left, Gaskin climaxed a golden string of Apple Cups by breaking free for an 80-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies breathing room. His night: 27 carries for 170 yards, giving him 550 yards and 10 touchdowns in Husky-Cougar matchups.

“He was one of my favorite all-time players, and probably the best running back I’ve ever been around,” said Petersen, who will remember Gaskin for his vision, but more than that, his durability and willingness to practice.

“Once, maybe his senior year, something was tweaked. That was the only time he might have missed some time. A lot of guys are recovering during the week. Not Myles.”

Missing from the game was the UW band, after one of the buses carrying its members skidded on an icy highway and rolled in central Washington heading to the game. Petersen paid tribute afterward, saying, “We’ve been thinking about ‘em. We played this game for those guys. We sang the fight song at the end there, with no music, and I’ve never heard our guys sing louder and better.”

2019

Washington 31, WSU 13

The outcome was unremarkable, which is to say that the game went like all the others when Chris Petersen and Mike Leach collided.

Washington won, 31-13, and about the only thing that distinguished it from the rest of the recent series was that the Cougars took the opening kickoff and drove for a touchdown, marking, shockingly, the first time they had scored a touchdown in an opening quarter of an Apple Cup since they did it in 2007, the last year of Bill Doba’s tenure.

Mostly, though, the day became notable for all sorts of unimaginable things unrelated to the three hours’ warfare, capped by a heretofore undisclosed lightning bolt that happened many months later.

First, there was the routine conversation between head coaches on the field during pregame warmups.

“Hey, how much longer you gonna do this?” Leach asked Petersen, stopping the UW head man in his tracks.

“I’m just staring at him,” Petersen recalled when we spoke in 2023. “Is this guy a mind-reader? I don’t even know what I said.”

Indeed, Petersen had decided to step down from the UW job and get out of coaching, which he announced three days later. But only he and his wife knew that.

After that opening touchdown by the Cougars, Washington gradually turned the screws. Jacob Eason of Lake Stevens threw a 57-yard bomb to Terrell Bynum to tie it, and two second-quarter touchdowns – the first on another Eason-to-Bynum pass – staked the UW to a 21-10 halftime lead.

The numbers were both deceiving and revealing. WSU had the ball for 34 minutes, 44 seconds, ran 82 plays to the Huskies’ 51 and had a 27-16 edge in first downs.

But WSU quarterback Anthony Gordon, a JC transfer from San Francisco City, had to pass 62 times for 308 yards, a mere 5.0 per attempt, and threw a pair of interceptions with no touchdowns.

In the post-mortem, Leach again referenced a faulty mindset, fretting, “I think we go out there and try to make too much happen. The game is meaningful, and as we do that, we get over our skis and try to do too much and it’s a frantic effort.”

Leach was pressed about the repetitiveness of it, Washington stuffing the WSU passing attack, running the ball profitably (Salvon Ahmed led with 85 yards on 16 carries), the utter sameness year after year.

Leach grew more prickly, saying, “You rank their recruiting class in the top 10, and then you’re always surprised that they win.”

Except, never in Petersen’s tenure did Washington have a top-10-rated recruiting class in Rivals.com’s rankings.

“So you’re not supposed to beat teams that have higher-ranked recruiting classes?” asked John Blanchette, the respected veteran columnist for the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

The question turned Leach volcanic.

“We certainly have before,” Leach fired back. “We didn’t win this one, and I don’t care to have a big discussion on it because I really don’t care what you think. You run your mouth in your little column and stuff, like some sanctimonious troll . . . you can live your little meager life in your little hole . . . “

In effect, that would be the last broadside fired by Mike Leach at Washington State. He was hired early in January 2020, by Mississippi State, for about $5 million annually. Before his MSU team would complete its 2022 season in a bowl game, Leach would die at 61 years of age of a cardiac event.

Well before that, Chris Petersen got a phone call from Leach after he took over at Mississippi State, a bolt out of the blue. He wanted to know how Petersen prepared for the Apple Cup.

Briefly, Petersen pondered whether he’d be betraying any house secrets. He concluded that Leach’s school was far enough removed from Washington’s radar to allow it.

“I came pretty clean with it,” said Petersen. “That was the only time he and I ever spoke about any sort of football. He was just not interested in any of that.”

Petersen told Leach he tried to make it fun, seeking a balance between urgency and nonchalance. The WSU fight song would be playing non-stop at practice and Apple Cups of the past would play on a loop on TVs in the football facility. Post-practice guest speakers would hammer home the necessity of a victory. There might have even been a mention of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

In the end, Leach was something of a paradox at WSU. He won at a clip better than anybody since Babe Hollingbery (a 55-47 record), and that includes people like Jim Sweeney and Jim Walden. But those coaches embraced the Apple Cup and prized the lore around it. The esteem in which they held the event, and their successes in it, eased shortfalls elsewhere and they were widely beloved.

In 2022, a mere three weeks before Leach’s death, I asked Bill Moos, the man who hired him, about Leach’s perspective on the Apple Cup, and his seeming indifference to the importance others attached to it.

“Yeah, and knowing him, he wanted every game to be equal,” said Moos, adding there was never a hint of a season salvation to be gained in the runup — “never any of that with him.

“Admittedly, from my point of view, it read on the scoreboard. All of a sudden, that was a bigger game to the Huskies than it was to the Cougars.”

Christian’s note: ‘Too Good to be Through,’ Bud Withers’ latest book, brings to life the Apple Cup’s history, characters and lore, from 1900 to present. Click here to purchase a copy. If it doesn’t go without saying: this one has my most emphatic stamp of approval.