It’s only been a couple months since brothers Jon and Jay Roberts moved their custom home building and design business from Oak Harbor to Coupeville.

While Jay Roberts has been slow to unpack sentimental items to decorate his office, his older brother didn’t waste any time mounting a “WSU” plaque on his office wall, a symbol of his crimson-colored loyalty to the Washington State Cougars.

Only a thin wall separates the siblings’ offices at Cascade Custom Homes & Design, but the gap between the two is as wide as the Evergreen State when it comes to their college football allegiances.

Jon Roberts is a diehard Cougars fan and alumnus, while Jay bleeds purple from the University of Washington, where he attended.

Normally, Jon Roberts would get an earful during the buildup to this week’s Apple Cup, but it’s been eerily silent in anticipation for the showdown between rival schools Friday in Pullman.

Both teams are tied for first place in the Pac-12 Conference North Division.

“The funny thing is, I think when he knows that they’re going to trounce us, it’s just a constant beating,” Jon said. “But in all honesty, it’s actually been pretty quiet. He was gone for two weeks on vacation, but the fact of the matter is, he’s been a little bit more reserved than normal because of how well the Cougars are playing.”

Jay, 47, points to the wisdom he’s acquired in the decades of ribbing Jon, 50, about their divided loyalties.

“We’ve learned our lessons in the years of us taking it out on each other,” he said.

“I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut. The Cougars are a little more vocal than the Huskies.”

All this started in 1984 when Jon broke family tradition and chose WSU to study architecture.

The brothers, both Coupeville High School graduates, grew up Husky fans. Their parents were Huskies season-ticket holders for more than 40 years until the Pac-12 Conference started scheduling too many night games, and both of their grandfathers attended Washington.

“Jon broke off to the Cougar side,” Jay said.

Jon pointed out that his dad, Sandy Roberts, also attended a semester at WSU, but accepts the fact that he’s essentially the family’s ‘lone wolf” when it comes to rooting for the Cougars.

He’s found, however, that he’s far from alone on Whidbey Island despite the island’s close proximity to Seattle.

“If you look at the Coupeville/Central Whidbey area, it’s pretty equal because of WSU’s influence on the agricultural community,” Jon said. “It’s kind of funny because it tends to be about equal. But it seems like once you get into Oak Harbor, there’s definitely a larger influence of Huskies.”

Randy Carr isn’t bashful about his expressing his U-Dub loyalties.

The Oak Harbor dentist is a rabid Dawgs fan and UW alum whose office at Island Dental Center is decorated with purple and gold Huskies curtains.

“My grandfather went there and both of my parents went there and I went there,” said Carr, who attended when the football program was a perennial power under coach Don James. “My sister got a law degree there.

In fact, my grandpa got a law degree there. I grew up in Whatcom County so I’ve always been a Husky fan being on the west side of the mountains, having grandparents hoot and holler for the Huskies on television.”

Up the highway from Carr’s practice is perhaps the most notable Cougar den in Oak Harbor.

Whidbey Island Dive Center is owned by Pat Beach, a former NFL tight end who played for the Cougars under Jim Walden from 1978-81 and last year was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

“There are plenty of Cougars around here,” Beach said, “but there are more Huskies, I’d say, because of (being on) this side of the state.”

One of Beach’s friends is Mel Elvebak, owner of Island Paint & Glass Company on Midway Boulevard. Elvebak played linebacker for the Cougars.

Beach said he only “hates the Huskies once a year,” adding that he was actually pulling for them against USC earlier this month when the Trojans ended Washington’s bid for perfection.

“I root for the state,” Beach said.

Beach’s teams never beat the Huskies during his time in Pullman.

The Huskies have dominated the all-time series, 70-32-6, and have won the past three meetings and six of the past seven, including a 45-10 shellacking in Seattle last season.

You’d have to go back to near the start of this century to find an Apple Cup matchup with as much intrigue as this one. Both teams carry Rose Bowl aspirations into the game. Friday’s winner advances to the conference championship game.

Washington is 10-1 overall (7-1 in the conference) and is still in the national championship picture. WSU, despite starting the season 0-2, is 8-3 overall, watching its perfect conference record come to an end in a road loss to Colorado Saturday.

The Apple Cup series is full of spoiler moments when the underdog has defeated the heavy favorite and crushed dreams in the process.

“I don’t think anyone wants to play the Cougs,” Beach said. “Even when they’re bad, nobody wants to play them the way that guy (Mike Leach) runs their offense.”

“Any time there’s an Apple Cup, you never know what’s going to happen,” Carr said.

“It makes me really nervous. They’ve kicked us out of a lot of Rose Bowls. I’m really excited for this one though because I think it’s got a chance of being a really fun game because both teams are good.”

The Roberts brothers still haven’t decided where they’ll watch the game on television or even if they’ll watch it together.

“I feel pretty confident that we have the ability to take them down this year,” Jon said.

“I’m hoping we win,” said Jay, the more superstitious of the two. “That’s as much as a prediction that you’re going to get from me.”