PULLMAN — The years of mediocrity, months of anticipation, weeks of buildup added up to this, the biggest Apple Cup ever.
And then all that excitement fizzled in a firestorm of a first quarter for the Washington Huskies.
No. 5 Washington built a 28-3 lead in the first quarter and staved off a strong third-quarter push from the No. 23 Cougars to claim its first Pac-12 North division championship with a 45-17 victory in Friday’s 109th edition of the Apple Cup.
The Huskies (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) will play either Colorado or USC in the Pac-12 championship game next Friday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Buffaloes host Utah tonight to determine the Pac-12 South winner.
The winner of the Pac-12 championship game will earn, at worst, a trip to the Rose Bowl.
This was the Huskies’ fourth straight Apple Cup victory, all by double digits.
UW receiver Dante Pettis caught two touchdown passes and threw a 50-yard pass to tight end Darrell Daniels in the first quarter as the Huskies quickly deflated a revved-up crowd of 33,773 at Martin Stadium.
The Huskies’ 28 points tied the school record for points scored in the first quarter. Myles Gaskin had a 2-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score, which was set up by Pettis’ pass to Daniels. That trick play that began with quarterback Jake Browning throwing a backward pass to Pettis.
On UW’s next possession, Pettis hauled in an 18-yard touchdown reception from Browning.
After a field goal by WSU’s Erik Powell, Pettis leapt over Darrien Molton to haul in a 61-yard touchdown pass, extending UW’s lead to 21-3.
In the final seconds of the first quarter, Browning then threw a 6-yard touchdown to John Ross III to make it 28-3.
Jake Browning had three first-half touchdown passes, making him just the third quarterback in Pac-12 history to throw 40 touchdown passes in a season. He’s three touchdowns shy of matching the conference record of 43 (set by Cal’s Jared Goff last year).
Jamal Morrow had a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to get the Cougars within 28-10, but the Huskies answered with a 22-yard run from Lavon Coleman to make it 35-10 at halftime.
Freshman safety Taylor Rapp forced a fumble in the first quarter, and UW’s defense had two impressive goal-line stands — one in the second quarter and one in the third.
The third-quarter stop was perhaps the pivotal sequence in the game. The Cougars dominated the third quarter, with a wide open Gabe Marks hauling in a 9-yard touchdown reception from Luke Falk to cut the WSU deficit to 35-17.
The Cougars then forced UW into a three-and-out, and Falk led a 17-play drive all the way to the UW 1-yard line. But the Huskies stuffed WSU’s James Williams on fourth down at the 2, giving UW possession with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.
Coleman then capped the Huskies’ 10-play, 98-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 42-17.
That killed any last gasp of a WSU comeback.
On the Cougars’ next drive, Kevin King knocked down Falk’s fourth-down pass at the WSU 30-yard line.
Cameron Van Winkle’s 41-yard field goal extended UW’s lead to 45-17.
King intercepted Falk on the Cougars’ next drive, sending many WSU fans home early.
