Despite Recent Dominance, Oregon’s Rivalry With Washington Is As Intense As Ever

Once upon a time, the annual meeting between the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies was considered by just about everyone to be one of the saltiest rivalries in all of collegiate sports. However, the past decade has seen what seems like a dramatic decline in venom between the two programs.

Some of this can be chalked up to the Ducks 10 game winning streak bringing a sense of inevitableness to the series, taking its toll on the will of Husky fans, while giving Duck fans a severe case of the ho-hums when it comes to another victorious border clash.

Another huge factor can be attributed to an influx of out-of-staters flooding both sidelines in recent seasons. Chip Kelly was a born and bred northeasterner who viewed talk of rivalries and big games more as media driven distractions, rather than the backbone of college football.

And, while Steve Sarkisian was very familiar with the conference as a whole, his roots are in SoCal, so he too was a newcomer to the ways of northwest football.

Similarly, as recruiting for both programs has become more and more national, there are less and less players from the northwest (or even the west coast) who can personally attest to the deep rooted blood feud between these two bitter rivals. Heck, redshirt seniors in Saturday’s game would have been just starting 6^th grade the last time the Huskies got the best of the Ducks. Simply put, it’s been a while since this matchup was on anyone’s radar.

Gone are the days of Keith Lewis trash talking in the newspaper or Rick Neuheisel leading his team out to the O at the center of Autzen Stadium for a post-game dance party. It’s even becoming rare to hear the always dubious fan anecdotes about having bags of (hopefully) dog urine and feces being tossed on opposing players and fans when they had the courage/audacity (depending on your point of view) to set foot on the hollowed grounds of their rival.

This weekend marks the 20^th anniversary of “The Pick”, a play that most attest to being the pivotal point in this rivalries sudden turnaround. From 1974 through 1993, the Huskies ran roughshod over the Ducks, amassing a staggering 17-3 record, highlighted by six Rose Bowl appearances and a (co-)National Championship for the Huskies during that run.

It only took a precocious freshman jumping an ill-advised out-rout, though, (as well as a few million of Phil Knights favorite presidents) to change all that.

Since that fateful October day, the plucky Ducks have taken home 15 of 19, including the last 10 in a row, the longest streak of wins in the 114 year-old series.

Yet, while players and coaches have done absolutely nothing to bolster the hatred, and while the on-field results have never been more lopsided, this rivalry is as strong as ever where it really matters: with the fans.

You see, there is nothing in sports which draws the ire of fans quite like being consistently and convincingly beaten by a single opponent over and over and over and over again. When said beatings are administered at the hands of your jerk-face of a neighbor who never hesitates to rub it in any chance they get, that ire turns into pure unadulterated hatred.

Duck fans spent the better part of five decades on the losing end of this not-so-friendly neighborly duel, and developed quite the distaste for their northern foe in the process. That’s not just simple dislike for a long-time conference rival, that’s multi-generational hatred. That’s sons and daughters raised from their infancy to despise all things purple and gold. Trained that a winning season wasn’t merely defined by the record books, but also by a victory over their most hated rival from the north.

Worst of all, Husky fan was all too eager to not just rub in their success, but, to declare the once great rivalry no more. “Rivalries are competitive. USC is our REAL rival.” Whether Duck fans were willing to admit it or not, those were the words that really stung. Having your biggest rival essentially stating “You’re not even worthy of our hatred.”

So, when Kenny Wheaton scored, setting off the chain of events that would ultimately flip the series in Oregon’s favor, even the most mild-mannered of Duck fans were all too ready to finally put the shoe on the other foot. Suddenly, they were that jerk-faced neighbor.

With 10 straight dominant Oregon wins now officially part of the lore of this series, it’s been their turn to dismiss and downplay the legitimacy of this rivalry. All of a sudden “Little Brother” is now “Big Brother” and you better believe that they’ll let anyone within earshot know about it.

And, while those who may not be intimately familiar with these two programs may be buying into the “this is no longer a rivalry” talk, go ask a UW alum their thoughts on the matter and see if they agree. See if they think that this is “just another game” or that “it’s no bigger than any other game against a top 10 team”.

While the attention span of most people these days is best measured in microseconds, the rivalry that is Oregon vs Washington football has been measured in decades. After having just wrapped up a decade of Duck dominance, Oregon fans are riding high and taking full advantage of their trash talking rights. But, it won’t last forever. It never does.

One of these days Washington is going to win again. Maybe it’ll be this Saturday in Eugene. Maybe it’ll have to wait until next season, when Marcus Mariota heads off to the NFL and the game returns to the friendly confines of Husky Stadium. Maybe it won’t happen for another decade or more. But, it will happen.

And, as Duck fans know, it can all change in an instant. When it does, both fans will quickly get reacquainted with that fiery passion that exists only in the heart of an eternal loser who has been beaten down for decades. That intense, burning desire to topple the most annoying and ruthless of bullies.

Whether this series every truly settles in to your traditional back-and-forth affair or if it continues on this pattern of wild decade long strings of shifting supremacy remains to be seen. However, one thing is for certain: this is one of the college football’s greatest rivalries, and, it’s only getting better with every added chapter.