There's still nostalgia for the Pacific Northwest's former Pac-12 rivalries, even if the realities of college football mean the gap between the teams involved is growing wider.
Washington visits Washington State in the 117th Apple Cup on Saturday and Oregon State visits Oregon in a rivalry that dates back to 1894.
The rivalries used to be the highlight of the year for many fans in both states, and the games were played on the last weekend of the season, adding to the tradition and, in many cases, the drama as the teams fought for bowl position.
But realignment changed everything. NIL money and the transfer portal added to the divide between programs.
Oregon State coach Trent Bray pointed to some of those things ahead of the Beavers’ game Saturday against the No. 6 Ducks at Autzen Stadium, while saying it was still a growth opportunity for his players.
“The Oregon versus Oregon State (rivalry) for a player, yeah, it’s not what it used to be. Conference alignment. Guys are moving from here to there, so that’s part of it for the players. Now the fans are different," Bray said. “But for the players, it’s a game against a top-level opponent, and that’s the exciting thing in an environment that’s going to be great.”
The Pac-12 began to fall apart in 2022 when USC and UCLA announced they were bolting for the Big Ten, with Washington and Oregon later following suit. After a final season in 2023, the Pac-12 essentially dissolved and the only teams left in the once-proud Conference of Champions were Washington State and Oregon State.
The Beavers and the Cougars struck a temporary deal last season to play in the Mountain West. They are operating as independents this season and will play each other twice before the Pac-12 is revived next season with new members Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State and Texas State. Gonzaga is also joining the league as a non-football member.
While the Apple Cup will continue for the foreseeable future, the rivalry game between Oregon and Oregon State won't be played next year, but could be revived in 2027.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning said despite the disparities, the rivalry still has meaning.
“I think all of college football feels different the last few years, but this game still means a lot to us, for sure. You know, state rights, it’s the opportunity to play a team in state, it’s just down the road. A lot of fans grew up either Ducks or Beavs, right?" Lanning said. "So this game means a lot to a lot of people, and certainly means a lot to the people on our team."
It's been obvious that the demise of the Pac-12 has stung the two remaining members. Both teams lost coaches and notable players to Power Four schools, and the programs have found it difficult to compete in terms of NIL opportunities.
Oregon State lost coach and former quarterback Jonathan Smith to Michigan State ahead of the 2024 season and promoted Bray, another alum. But the Beavers have struggled. They’ve gone 0-3 this season and they’ve lost nine of 10 dating back to last season.
Bray has remained outwardly optimistic.
“We’ve got good players,” he said. “I feel confident about our players and what they can do. And I feel confident in our coaches to get them ready to play and go out there and execute."
Washington State fared well last year, going 8-5 and playing in the Holiday Bowl, but coach Jake Dickert left the Cougars for Wake Forest, taking a number of players with him. Quarterback John Mateer transferred to Oklahoma.
The Cougars hired Jimmy Rogers from FCS-level South Dakota State, where he led the undefeated Jackrabbits to a national title in 2023. At Washington State, he had 75 new players on the roster heading into this season.
While he's been realistic about what he's up against in rebuilding the program, he hasn't used it as an excuse. Asked about the gap in resources as the Cougars prepared to face the Huskies, he wouldn't bite.
“I'm not going to talk about the lack of resources, I'm just not that way. There are things that we don't have that other schools have, I've been at that level. We have to execute. We have to have the mindset that we can beat anybody,” Rogers said. “I think, over time, when you build a culture that's strong and competitive and players believe in themselves, because they put in the work, you're able to have success when you get into tight battles versus teams you aren't deserving to beat maybe based off of resources or dollars or stuff like that. I just don't look for excuses.”
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning calls instructions during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Lydia Ely)
HAMIMA, Syria (AP) — A trickle of civilians left a contested area east of Aleppo on Thursday after a warning by the Syrian military to evacuate ahead of an anticipated government military offensive against Kurdish-led forces.
Government officials and some residents who managed to get out said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces prevented people from leaving via the corridor designated by the military along the main road leading west from the town of Maskana through Deir Hafer to the town of Hamima.
The SDF denied the reports that they were blocking the evacuation.
In Hamima, ambulances and government officials were gathered beginning early in the morning waiting to receive the evacuees and take them to shelters, but few arrived.
Farhat Khorto, a member of the executive office of Aleppo Governorate who was waiting there, claimed that there were "nearly two hundred civilian cars and hundreds of people who wanted to leave” the Deir Hafer area but that they were prevented by the SDF. He said the SDF was warning residents they could face “sniping operations or booby-trapped explosives” along that route.
Some families said they got out of the evacuation zone by taking back roads or going part of the distance on foot.
“We tried to leave this morning, but the SDF prevented us. So we left on foot … we walked about seven to eight kilometers until we hit the main road, and there the civil defense took us and things were good then,” said Saleh al-Othman, who said he fled Deir Hafer with more than 50 relatives.
Yasser al-Hasno, also from Deir Hafer, said he and his family left via back roads because the main routes were closed and finally crossed a small river on foot to get out of the evacuation area.
Another Deir Hafer resident who crossed the river on foot, Ahmad al-Ali, said, “We only made it here by bribing people. They still have not allowed a single person to go through the main crossing."
Farhad Shami, a spokesman for the SDF, said the allegations that the group had prevented civilians from leaving were “baseless.” He suggested that government shelling was deterring residents from moving.
The SDF later issued a statement also denying that it had blocked civilians from fleeing. It said that “any displacement of civilians under threat of force by Damascus constitutes a war crime" and called on the international community to condemn it.
“Today, the people of Deir Hafer have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to their land and homes, and no party can deprive them of their right to remain there under military pressure,” it said.
The Syrian army’s announcement late Wednesday — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday — appeared to signal plans for an offensive against the SDF in the area east of Aleppo. Already there have been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides.
Thursday evening, the military said it would extend the humanitarian corridor for another day.
The Syrian military called on the SDF and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the Euphrates River, to the east of the contested zone. The SDF controls large swaths of northeastern Syria east of the river.
The tensions in the Deir Hafer area come after several days of intense clashes last week in Aleppo city that ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters and government forces taking control of three contested neighborhoods.
The fighting broke out as negotiations have stalled between Damascus and the SDF over an agreement reached last March to integrate their forces and for the central government to take control of institutions including border crossings and oil fields in the northeast.
Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, which was formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkey-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with Kurdish separatist insurgents in Turkey.
Despite the long-running U.S. support for the SDF, the Trump administration has also developed close ties with the government of interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and has so far avoided publicly taking sides in the clashes in Aleppo.
Ilham Ahmed, head of foreign relations for the SDF-affiliated Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria, at a press conference Thursday said SDF officials were in contact with the United States and Turkey and had presented several initiatives for de-escalation. She said that claims by Damascus that the SDF had failed to implement the March agreement were false.
——
Associated Press journalist Hogir Al Abdo in Qamishli, Syria, contributed.
Members of the Syrian military police stand at a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, stand next to their vehicles at a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A displaced Syrian family rides in the back of a truck near a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army next to a river in the village of Rasm Al-Abboud, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Displaced Syrian children and women ride in the back of a truck near a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Displaced Syrians at a river crossing near the village of Jarirat al Imam, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
