Myles Gaskin Runs for 4 TDs as Washington Beats Washington State in Apple Cup

The No. 17 Washington Huskies won their fifth consecutive Apple Cup on Saturday with a 41-14 rout of the No. 13 Washington State Cougars at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Washington spoiled Washington State's Pac-12 title hopes in the process, as the Cougars' loss means Stanford and USC will meet in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The Huskies ran all over Washington State on Saturday with junior running back Myles Gaskin picking up 192 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Washington's defense also stepped up, as it limited the high-octane Wazzu offense to 345 yards and held star quarterback Luke Falk to 369 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

Huskies quarterback Jake Browning threw for just 93 yards in the game, but that was largely by design since Washington rushed for 328 yards as a team.

Washington has now won double-digit games in consecutive years after not having won at least 10 games in a season since 2000.

Although Washington ultimately dominated the game, it had some issues in the first quarter that suggested the contest would be close.

After Gaskin rushed for a two-yard touchdown on the opening drive, Washington's next three drives ended in two punts and a fumble.

The Huskies also lost senior star wide receiver Dante Pettis when he appeared to injure his lower left leg on a punt return, according to Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com.

In response, Washington decided to largely eschew the passing game in favor of pounding the rock with Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed.

Browning rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter, followed by Gaskin scoring another touchdown from two yards out to extend Washington's led to 21-0, as seen in this video courtesy of UW Football:

The Huskies added a field goal late in the half to make it 24-0 entering the locker room, and it was apparent at that point Washington State hadn't come to play.

The Cougars turned the ball over three times in the first half, and Ryan S. Clark of the News Tribune blamed it primarily on shoddy offensive line play:

Falk did somewhat salvage his statistical line with some garbage yardage and a touchdown late in the game, but it was far from a banner performance.

Despite his impressive career numbers, Stephen Cohen of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer suggested he isn't necessarily a beloved figure among Cougars fans:

Washington's ground attack continued to churn out yardage in the third quarter, with Gaskin being the driving force behind it.

With the Huskies leading 27-0, Gaskin found paydirt for the third time from 26 yards out to extend the lead to 34-0:

Among those who were thoroughly impressed by Gaskin's performance was ESPN's David Pollack:

After Washington State broke up the shutout in the fourth quarter with a two-yard touchdown run from Jamal Morrow, Gaskin put an exclamation point on his night with his fourth rushing touchdown from three yards out.

Washington State's two losses entering Saturday were blowouts against California and Arizona on the road, which caused Stewart Mandel of The Athletic to question why the Cougs can't get the job done away from home:

The Huskies won't have a chance to defend their Pac-12 title nor will they reach the CFP for a second consecutive year, but they closed out the regular season on a high note by beating down their biggest rival.

Washington has made huge strides under head coach Chris Petersen, and it appears to be developing into a perennial power less than a decade after posting a 0-12 season in 2008.

The Cougars have more progress to make in terms of becoming a complete team, but head coach Mike Leach has them moving in the right direction despite the loss considering they went nine straight years without a bowl game from 2004 through 2012.