The Cougars have a team full of unknowns whereas the Huskies still need need to see how several players look in game action.
The Washington Huskies football team will kick off a 2026-27 season rife with expectations in the Apple Cup against the Washington State Cougars at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
The Huskies will take on a Cougars team that has a lot of unknowns due to an almost completely retooled roster under first-year head coach Kirby Moore.
Washington State is beginning a new era under a new regime, but Washington also has its own share of questions to answer despite the program being in its third season under head coach Jedd Fisch.
Here's several key matchups/storylines to watch for the Huskies' season-opener against the Cougars.
How will new cornerback duo look?
Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters will be facing Washington State quarterback Caden Pinnick for the second-straight season. The last time the two parties faced, Pinnick was with UC Davis and finished the game 8-for-16 as the Huskies went on to win 70-10.
Pinnick, who finished his season as the Big Sky Freshman of the Year and a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) First-team Freshman All-American, will have a better supporting cast than he did last year with the Aggies. And it will be interesting to see how the Huskies' new cornerback duo will respond.
Last year's starters, Ephesians Prysock (San Francisco 49ers) and Tacario Davis (Cincinnati Bengals) were both selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. This year's duo will be returning second-year Dylan Robinson and fourth-year corner and Virginia transfer Emmanuel Karnley.
Robinson was highlighted by both Prysock and Davis as the "next man up" and has been heralded as a future NFL draft pick by his coaching staff. However, he was out the majority of training camp.
Karnley has been one of the team's best competitors in offseason practices, but has often been the victim of 50-50 balls due to his 6-foot-1 frame. Robinson, for comparison, is listed at 6-foot-3.
The cornerback duo will be tested more and more as UW gets into the thick of the Big Ten schedule, but the Apple Cup will be a good early look at how well the tandem can operate.
How will first-year starters perform?
Washington will have at least three, possibly four true freshmen starters for the Apple Cup.
Edge rusher Ramzak Fruean, interior defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa and left tackle Kodi Greene are all slated to get starting reps and cornerback Jeron Jones could get the nod at the starting nickel position or split time with returner Rahshawn Clark.
The Huskies coaching staff has operated on the mantra that the "best players will play." There will be more experienced substitutions at every position the first-years are slated to play, so there will be options if the first-years are overwhelmed by the college game.
However, it will be a season-long storyline how well the first years perform and how they improve week-to-week.
Who stands out in the running back committee?
Washington will be going with second-year running back Quaid Carr as the starter for the Apple Cup, but will be operating a running-back-by-committee approach with fourth-year running back Jayden Limar and sixth-year running back Trey Cooley.
The Huskies are unlikely to rely on any of those aforementioned trio as heavily as previous starter Jonah Coleman. But, what situations the three are used and how well they perform could determine how their respective snaps are split going forward.
