Of course, the Apple Cup often is, so we shouldn't have really been surprised.

But after what happened to the Huskies last week, it was easy to wonder if they'd have it in them to get up for this game.

According to a lot of the players afterward, they were revived by an emotional meeting on Friday night when a lot of the seniors spoke to the team --- something that is annually done before the final game of the season.

"We really fed off that emotion,'' said linebacker Scott White.

It showed as this was a different Husky team than we had seen the last three weeks. As I wrote earlier, you wonder where this team was for a lot of those games --- if this team had shown up for some of those other games, they'd be going bowling right now.

But maybe that's part of the growth process with this program.

The big plays were a revelation, and maybe the most heartening aspect of the game considering all but one of the players who pulled them off will be coming back next season (too bad about the recent news on Marlon Wood now after we finally saw him break a big one this season).

But Louis Rankin, Cody Ellis, Marcel Reece and Chris Stevens will all help form the core of the team next year and having this kind of success will only lead to a better off-season.

"This is a huge win,'' said UW coach Tyrone Willingham. "You always want to finish your season with success. It carries over into the winer and for our seniors leaving the program, they can feel like they did something. They started something and this year was much improvement over the last couple of years, so it's a step in the right direction.''

Carl Bonnell threw two bad interceptions, but he also seemed a lot more assertive tonight, which the team needed in its leader in a hostile environment, and he should be praised for that.

Reece was a revelation. He had apparently had a big talk with Tim Lappano a few weeks ago, asking what he had to do to get on the field. Lappano told him he had to practice better, and Reece apparently heeded the word. Lappano called it "just a glimpse'' of what the Huskies may see from him next year.

And while there are still issues with the way Rankin runs, that 77-yarder showed why the coaches hung with him for so long. Maybe he'll finally figure it out next season.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words on the blog. It's been fun to do this season and I'm glad some of you liked it.

As for breaking down next season, we'll get to that next week.

I'll try to have a bit more over the weekend on this game but I've also got to drive back to Seattle (and more slowly this time).