Idaho
3 stories filed under Idaho on Wazzu. The newest of them: “August Apple Cup: Pullman Gets the Rivalry in Prime Palouse Heat”, “Palouse Hoops Is Back: Cougs, Vandals Set Two-Year Series”, and “Cut mid-flight, Isaac Jones lands on his feet in Detroit”. August Apple Cup. The Battle of the Palouse is back on the hardwood, and this time it's got a two-year guarantee. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Idaho story on Wazzu, newest first.
August Apple Cup: Pullman Gets the Rivalry in Prime Palouse Heat
August Apple Cup. Say it a few times. It'll grow on you, or it won't, but it's happening. The 2027 Apple Cup is moving to Aug. 28 in Pullman. That's the first time in 118 years this rivalry gets played in August. Prime Palouse heat. The move pushes the game up from its traditional mid-September slot. WSU and UW agreed to it, and the press release landed Monday. The Cougs get a bye week out of it in Week 4 of the season, which is a nice little scheduling cushion. The 2027 game is the fourth of a five-year extension the sides hammered out in 2023, back when the Pac-12 was still smoldering. The 2028 game in Seattle is the last one under contract. After that? Who knows. The Huskies have the all-time edge, 78-34-6, and they took this year's game 24-10 in Seattle. That stings. But an August kickoff in Pullman changes the whole feel. It's hot, it's harvest season, and the Palouse is doing what it does best. If you're making the trip, pack sunscreen and a cooler. For more on where this team is headed, check out our look at the Cougs chasing their first FBS win at SDSU. The road doesn't get easier, but it gets earlier. Go Cougs.
Palouse Hoops Is Back: Cougs, Vandals Set Two-Year Series
The Battle of the Palouse is back on the hardwood, and this time it's got a two-year guarantee. Washington State and Idaho have agreed to a home-and-home series, with the Cougs hosting at Beasley on Nov. 27 and the Vandals returning the favor early in the 2027-28 season in Moscow. That last part matters. The game hasn't been played in Moscow since 2021, when WSU won by a series-record 109-61. Idaho fans probably remember that one. They also remember last year, when the Vandals walked into Pullman and won 83-81. This rivalry is the oldest continuous college basketball rivalry in the country, running every year from 1906 to 2021. Then a Pac-12 rule killed the streak. The league wouldn't let its teams play opponents ranked too low in the NET over a five-year period. Idaho wasn't ranked high enough. So the series sat for a year. It came back in 2023, and now it's locked in for two more. WSU leads the all-time series 168-115. The Cougs are coming off a 12-20 season in their first year of the new Pac-12, with an overhauled roster. Idaho just won the Big Sky Tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament in 36 years, then lost most of its roster too. Both teams are rebuilding. That makes this year's game harder to call, which is exactly why you want to be there. If you're already thinking about hoops, check out the news that the Cougs get Duke in Palm Springs this November.
Cut mid-flight, Isaac Jones lands on his feet in Detroit
Isaac Jones got cut mid-flight. Not a metaphor. The Kings tapped him on the shoulder at 30,000 feet and told him he was waived. That is brutal. Jones sat in that seat for the rest of the flight, texted his wife, and didn't sleep. Two days of waiting on the phone. Detroit called. The fit makes too much sense. Jones is a Spanaway kid who worked at a pipe supply store, grinded through Wenatchee Valley, Idaho, and then WSU, where he helped drag the Cougs to their first NCAA tournament in 16 years. He plays with grit. The Motor City is the right place for that engine. He's 26 now, the oldest guy on Detroit's Summer League roster, and he's still out there averaging 17 and eight. He's working on his three-point shot, taking four in a game. The Pistons want him to shoot. That's the next step. Jones still follows both of his former schools on the Palouse. He's planning to hit Pullman in August for an alumni tournament. He was happy to see Idaho make the tournament too. That's a guy who doesn't forget where he came from. If you want to read about another unusual path from the region, check out the story on Noah Riley's route from Whitworth to the NFL. Different sport, same kind of persistence. Go Cougs.