The only way this game could’ve been better is if Oregon was a better football team. But, they’re not. They’re not even GOOD! They might be mediocre at best, but they’re more likely bad, and maybe even the worst in the conference. 0-3, having fallen to Colorado and Washington State as well. Now, as it turns out, the Buffaloes and Cougars might be way better than we all thought, but that’s neither here nor there. The Ducks are a shitshow, and we just beat them 70-21.
70! THE REIGN OF TERROR IS OVER!!!
November 1, 2003, was the last time the Huskies beat the Ducks, a 42-10 upset at Husky Stadium. Since then:
- 2004: @ Oregon, 31-6
- 2005: @ Oregon, 45-21
- 2006: @ Oregon, 34-14
- 2007: vs. Oregon, 55-34
- 2008: @ Oregon, 44-10
- 2009: vs. Oregon, 43-19
- 2010: @ Oregon, 53-16
- 2011: vs. Oregon, 34-17
- 2012: @ Oregon, 52-21
- 2013: vs. Oregon, 45-24
- 2014: @ Oregon, 45-20
- 2015: vs. Oregon, 26-20
It was a black mark on this organization only rivalled by the winless 2008 campaign. Granted, there’s a lot of money being pumped into the Oregon athletic program; Phil Knight is trying to buy his way to a championship in everything. But, this is still college football, and Oregon doesn’t enjoy the same advantages it once did. They came on like a tidal wave and took the college football world by storm; they went from also-ran to one of the nation’s elite programs in the blink of an eye. Much like the Huskies did under Don James oh so many decades ago. But, as quickly as you can build up a program, it can fall apart through neglect. That happened to the Huskies over the course of the 1990s before ultimately bottoming out in the first decade of the 2000s. And, that MIGHT be what’s happening down in Eugene right now.
Truth be told, I never thought we’d see those glory days ever again. It’s college football! It just sounds so daunting, doesn’t it? There are hundreds of schools to compete with! The rosters turn over so frequently! And, let’s face it, it seems like other schools just care more. Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Florida State. Hell, even schools in our own conference, like USC, Oregon, Stanford, and UCLA. Where does Washington fit in? Who the hell would ever want to play football here, when you can go to one of those other schools with a seemingly better chance of playing for a championship?
The Huskies last won a title in 1991! Literally everone playing for the Huskies right now was born AFTER that year!
There are no memories of the Huskies being a powerhouse! I feel like most of the kids here have no memory whatsoever of the last time we even played in the Rose Bowl in the 2000 season!
You know what’s pretty fresh in their minds? 0-12. Eight years ago, we were in the middle of the very worst season in this school’s history. Now? We’re ranked in the Top 5 with a very reasonable shot at making the college football playoff AND WE JUST PUT UP 70 POINTS ON OREGON!!!
The most points the Huskies have scored since the 1944 season, when we were members of the Pacific Coast Conference, and we dropped 71 against Willamette and again against Whitman a few weeks later. They were also the second-most points Oregon had ever given up in school history, and the most since 1941.
Jake Browning scored a Pac-12 record-tying 8 touchdowns (6 passing, 2 rushing) on 304 yards (22 of 28) passing. Myles Gaskin ran for 197 yards and a TD. Dante Pettis caught 8 balls for 134 yards and 2 TDs; John Ross caught 9 for 94 and 3 TDs. The defense logged 3 more sacks (2 for my boy Greg Gaines), and Budda Baker caught an interception to help pad his elite numbers.
Even though the Ducks are God awful, this win does so much for us going forward. It’s still Oregon, which is a nationally-recognized football brand. People are going to see we put 70 on them and they’re going to be impressed, regardless of Oregon’s record. This was also a road game, and it’s never this easy to win on the road unless you’re truly elite, like we are. On top of all of that, with all his production, Jake Browning has put himself on the Heisman short list. That Louisville guy will probably end up winning it, but just the fact that Browning is in the top 5 right now is more than enough to keep the Huskies on everyone’s minds come playoff time.
Now, obviously, the Huskies have to keep winning. Even 1 loss, and you kiss this whole “playoffs” thing goodbye. Like certain conference championship-seasons under Lorenzo Romar in basketball, this Husky team is dogged by the Pac-12 being in a down year. Fucking Stanford did us no fucking favors by losing at home to the Cougars. Wazzu being undefeated in conference play WOULD BE interesting – considering we play them in the Apple Cup next month – if they didn’t fucking lose to Eastern Washington and Boise State earlier this season. Yeah, Boise is ranked in the Top 20, so maybe that’ll help matters, but I can’t see the Cougs being too highly ranked when they lose to the likes of Eastern (plus, let’s be real here, I’d be shocked if they didn’t Coug it a few times between now and the time they play us on Thanksgiving weekend).
A 2-loss Stanford team (and counting) sure hurts us. A 4-loss Ducks team is a non-entity; they might not even make a bowl game this year. Colorado just made the Top 25, then promptly lost to USC, who itself has 2 conference defeats. I’m holding out hope that the Utah game at the end of the month will mean something, but they lost to Cal, who has losses to ASU and Oregon State of all teams! ASU is an interesting one, with a 5-1 record, and a 2-1 conference record, but their defense is one of the very worst in all of college football!
I mean, on and on. This Pac-12 is comprised of the Washington Huskies and a bunch of disappointments. One slip-up and it could all go tumbling down.
But, on the flipside, if we keep winning like we’ve been doing, it’s almost a certainty we’ll be in that college football playoff!
Like I said up top, I never thought I’d see the day. I never thought I’d see the Husky football program with a legitimate shot at going undefeated. But, it’s all right there in front of us!
We get a BYE week this week, then we host Oregon State next week. That’s followed by a HUGE showdown in Utah against a team with a stout defense that’s superbly coached. Then, we follow that up with a road game against Cal; this will be the toughest 2-game stretch the rest of the regular season. Unlike Utah, Cal’s offense – particularly its passing game – is off the charts good. We might be in for a shootout in that one.
Then, we get back-to-back home games against USC and ASU. I like our chances here quite a bit. That puts us into Apple Cup week, which I predicted at the beginning of the season would be the game that decides who goes to the Pac-12 championship game. It’s in Pullman, against what figures to be a pretty talented Cougar team that would love nothing more than to ruin our chances at a national championship.
True, the Huskies could slip up in any of these games, but at the same time it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest to see us run the table. If I had to put money on it, I’d probably bet against us, because life is the worst and I can never achieve happiness. But, for right now, anything is possible and that includes a mountain of Purple & Gold confetti dropping down on January 9, 2017.