PULLMAN, Wash. _ The Washington Huskies' script stayed the same, and so did the result in the 111th Apple Cup.
Myles Gaskin, Jake Browning and the Huskies' senior class finished their careers with a perfect ledger against rival Washington State, leading the No. 16 Huskies to another Pac-12 North title and keeping alive their Rose Bowl hopes with a 28-15 victory over the No. 7 Cougars during a snow-filled Apple Cup on Friday evening.
The Huskies (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) will play for their second Pac-12 championship in three years when they meet South division winner Utah next Friday in Santa Clara, Calif.
Gaskin's 80-yard touchdown run with 12:30 left in the game gave the Huskies some much-needed breathing room and moved him over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the fourth time in his career _ the first Pac-12 player to ever achieve that feat.
The senior from Lynnwood rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries, and he finished his career with 550 yards and 10 touchdowns in four Apple Cups.
Chris Petersen improved to 5-0 head-to-head in the coaching matchup against Mike Leach, and the Huskies won their sixth consecutive Apple Cup by again shutting down the nation's most prolific passing attack.
The Cougars (10-2, 7-2) came into the game with a chance to win their first Pac-12 North title and bolster their College Football Playoff resume. The Huskies dashed those hopes while also putting a major dent in Gardner Minshew's Heisman bid.
Browning overcame an end-zone interception on UW's first drive to put together another efficient performance against the Cougars.
A steady snowfall began in the second quarter and continued throughout the rest of the night, making the Martin Stadium turf look much like an ice-skating rink.
The conditions didn't do WSU's famous Air Raid passing attack any favors, but, then, the Huskies have become conditioned to bullying Leach's offense.
The Huskies often rushed just three defenders and dropped eight into coverage, limiting Minshew to a lot of checkdown throws and underneath passes for short gains.
Minshew, who leads the nation in passing and threw for a school-record seven touchdown passes in the Cougars' 69-28 victory over Arizona last week, was held to 96 yards in the first half on 17 of 22 passes, with one lost fumble and one interception. He finished 26 of 35 for 152 yards, but with no touchdowns and two interceptions. UW safety Taylor Rapp nearly had a pick on the first snap of the game, and senior linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven did hold on to a Minshew interception late in the third quarter.
The Huskies' own turnovers issues _ and poor special teams _ helped the Cougars stay close.
Gaskin spun away from a would-be tackle for a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Huskies a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Cougars' Travell Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards, setting up the Cougars' first scoring drive. WSU covered 49 yards on 11 plays, with James Williams taking a delayed handoff and running 11 yards for a touchdown.
That got the Cougars to 14-7 down with 33 seconds left in the half.
Max Richmond lost a fumble on the Huskies' kickoff return, giving Minshew a chance to tie from the UW 24-yard line with 28 seconds left. But UW's Byron Murphy helped the Huskies escape when he intercepted a Minshew pass in the right corner of the end zone.
The Huskies extended their lead to open the third quarter when receiver Aaron Fuller threw a double-pass touchdown to sophomore tight end Hunter Bryant, his first touchdown catch of the season. That came a play after Bryant's 59-yard reception from Browning on third-and-16 from the UW 29.
But UW's extra-point try was blocked and WSU's Dale Hunter returned it some 90 yards to give the Cougars two points, making the score 20-9.
Browning later lost a fumble that the Cougars recovered at the UW 23. Five plays later, Williams dived in on a 1-yard touchdown run. He fumbled at the end of the play, but a review showed he had crossed the goal line before losing control.
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