When Mike Leach arrived at Washington State in 2009, the Cougars were finally having some success against Washington in the Apple Cup. They had won four of the last five meetings, their best Apple Cup run ever. Since Leach arrived, Washington State is 1-10 against Washington on the field and 1-10 off the field (recruiting rankings).
After the most recent loss, a 31-13 defeat in Seattle in Week 14, Leach was asked about his Apple Cup struggles, to which he pointed to recruiting rankings. The obvious follow-up question, which was asked by Jon Blanchette of The Spokesman-Review: "You're not supposed to beat teams that have higher-ranked recruiting classes?"
Leach initially remained calm saying, "We certainly have before," before giving Blanchette a tongue-lashing:
