After forty years of misery the tables have been turned for nine glorious years.
Washington used to own the Pacific Northwest. Under Jim Owens, Don James and then Rick Neuheisel they dominated the Ducks, Beavers and Cougars, a purple reign that included 14 Rose Bowls and a national championship. They danced on the O. They cheated and plundered.
James gang: the slush fund Huskies celebrate winning the 1992 Rose Bowl (Irene Fertik photo).
The bitter history goes back to the dim reaches of football time. Certain stories ought to be told to children at bedtime as they clutch their stuffed Ducks: in 1916, a Husky coach lobbied to have Oregon’s best player declared ineligible. In 1948 the Ducks finished conference play tied for first place. The Husky athletic director voted for Cal to go to the Rose Bowl, and convinced Montana to vote for the Bears as well. In ’62 Oregon receiver Larry Hill was open in the end zone with a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but Dawg fans rushed the field and interfered with him.
But the principle reason for the Husky hate is simply the long years of dominance and arrogance, The Husky caravans used to come down I-5 as if they owned it. Autzen Stadium would be smeared with swaths of garish purple sweaters and putrid-looking gold pom poms. The losses were merciless and predictable. 66-0, 55-3. At one point UW won 13 of 14. Wins were rare, and celebrated long into the night.
The tide turned in 1994 on the afternoon Kenny Wheaton saved fans from another late-game collapse, picking off Damon Huard as Washington was about to drive for a clinching touchdown in a another game the Ducks let slip away. Instead, Wheaton jumped an out route at the goal line and returned it for a score. Ever since, Oregon has risen whilst the Dawg empire floundered. They hired Jim Lambright and Ty Willingham. They fell into the 0-12 mire and the 7-6 malaise. The Ducks have won nine glorious games in a row, every game by 17 points or more. It’s been a heavenly, Husky-free time at the top of the PAC-12 Conference.
At the SB Nation website UW Dawg Pound, columnist Chris Landon attempted to capsule the deep enmity Oregon fans have for Washington and all things purple and gold:
This has been a pretty satisfying run for Duck fans who, despite nearly a decade of dominance, have managed to hold on to the burning embers of unjustified hate for so long, that it has come to define them. Far removed from whatever incidents inspired it, Duck fans hate just for the sake of hating. They lever their hate to recruit new fans and to breed more hate. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle of hatred that is not diminished by their success but, rather, fueled by it. I’m not sure college sports has seen anything quite its equal (though I imagine Auburn / Alabama is close), but it is a phenomenon that knows no end.
Curiously, the hatred and fervor in the game lies mostly on the Oregon side. Husky fans seem to regard Duck honks with a reserved bemusement, content to throw out gibes like, “how many national championships have you won?” and “we’ve been to 14 Rose Bowls, how many have the Ducks been to?” The profound rejoinder is always that the Oregon “O” stands for zero, as in zero national championships and zero real accomplishments. There seems to be a feeling that the Ducks recent run is a temporary blip, as if the Huskies are merely lending Northwest supremacy for a while, and a return to the proper natural order is a matter of time.
Hearing them talk and Tweet, there’s an air of feigned indifference. Duck fans hate while Dawg fans are mildly amused and taking it all in stride. But have no mistake, if Washington does succeed in ending the streak as 14-point underdogs on Saturday night, the goal posts are coming down, and those hip, self-assured, mildly indifferent Washington fans will howl and bay at the moon over Montlake. The yachts in the harbor will rock with joy. Champagne will be uncorked and babies conceived. The Seattle Times will run a two-inch banner headline on the front page.
Already, something unusual happened Monday in Eugene. Chip Kelly used to downplay all rivalries and insist every week was business as usual. He wouldn’t acknowledge rivals in any way, wanting the team to prepare the same way all the time. Helfrich, Oregon born and raised, was asked today if the Washington game presented any special pressure for the team and he said, “I don’t think so. I think our guys, we have a bunch of guys who have played in big games. Obviously for our newer guys who haven’t played a ton there will be some element of newness but yeah, you package that with the new stadium and the nature of the rivalry, it will certainly be a new flavor.”
Around the web some Oregon analysts are speculating that Helfrich’s slip from the party line of faceless opponents and every-week-is-the-Super-Bowl represented a flaw in his thinking or a weakness, but it’s just common sense: rivalries are different, not in the way the team should prepare, but in terms of what to expect from the opponent and the venue.
After nine straight losses, Washington fans will be supercharged for this game because it’s the first time in a long while that the Huskies have a reasonable chance of ending the streak. It’s a much improved football team from the recent 0-12 misery and the triplet years of 7-6. The 2013 team has opened the season 4-1 after a narrow loss to Stanford. Senior quarterback Keith Price is coming off his best game and completing 72% of his passes. Bishop Sankey is the 4th most productive running back in the country with 146 yards a game and 5.9 yards per carry, a pounding inside runner with great balance and leg drive. Their three outside receivers, Kasen Williams, 6-2, 212, Kevin Smith, 5-11, 214, and Jaydon Mickens, 5-10, 170, have combined for 72 catches and 984 yards. Tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins is what Colt Lyerla was supposed to be, a matchup nightmare at 6-6, 276 with a 4.6 40. He’s caught 14 passes for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns.
But the defense is where Washington has made the biggest leap. Saturday night they held Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan to 100 yards passing. For the season Justin Wilcox’s unit is holding opponents to a paltry 3.9 yards per play and 14.8 points per game. They have 15 sacks and 7 interceptions, and they’re playing with a nasty edge that Washington defenses haven’t had since the ’90s.
Streaks have an eerie weight all their own. Oregon, #2 in the nation, favored by two touchdowns, scoring nearly 60 points a game, hasn’t played a ranked team yet this season. They’ve been able to overcome sluggish starts and giving up a handful of big plays to inferior competition. This is the first game all year they’ll face a team with like offensive weapons and a defense that punches back. Fans have to hope the business-as-usual approach holds, coupled with a healthy respect for the intensity Washington’s likely to bring in an attempt to end a decade of dominance. It will be a loud, electric home crowd. If the Huskies get in some blows early and gain a lead, the excitement and hope will create a momentum of their own. The Ducks have to be prepared for all that. Their recent history shows they will be.
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