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    Home » As 20-Point ‘Dogs, Huskies’ Task Is Formidable
    King5

    As 20-Point ‘Dogs, Huskies’ Task Is Formidable

    SPNW StaffBy SPNW StaffOctober 20, 2011Updated:October 4, 20126 Comments6 Mins Read
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    Rick Neuheisel coached the Washington Huskies to a pair of road wins -- at No. 23 Oregon, at No. 3 Washington State in the final two contests of the 2002 season, Neuheisel's last at Washington. / Photo courtesy of the University of Washington

    The Washington Huskies have played literally dozens of road games against nationally ranked opponents since 1947, when The Associated Press launched its wire-service poll, but have precious few victories to show for their efforts.

    In fact, Washington, taking on No. 7 Stanford Saturday in Palo Alto,  played 97 games against a ranked opponent on the road since 1947 and won just 19 times, or less than 20 percent. In UW’s 19 victories, the Huskies have bested a team in the Top 10, where the 2011 Cardinal reside, on eight occasions, and not once since 2003.

    That year, on Oct. 18, a Keith Gilbertson-coached UW team en route to a 7-6 season defeated No. 22-rated Oregon State in Corvallis, a win in which Cody Pickett threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-17 victory.

    Since that win, which took place while Jake Locker was a freshman at Ferndale High School, the Huskies have played a ranked team on the road 14 times, and are nada-for-14, which includes the 51-38 loss to then-No. 11 Nebraska Sept. 17.

    As we said, Washington has eight road wins over teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. The Huskies haven’t whipped a team of that stature since Nov. 23, 2002 — Nate Robinson was a freshman cornerback — when they scored a 29-26, three-overtime victory over a Jason Gesser-led Washington State team in perhaps the most exciting Apple Cup ever played.

    (Remarkably, Neuheisel’s 2002 Huskies ended the season with back-to-back victories over ranked opponents on the road. A week before beating the Cougars at Martin Stadium, they handled No. 23 Oregon 42-14 at Autzen Stadium, thanks to Pickett’s 316 yards and four touchdowns and Reggie Williams’ school-record 14 catches for 198 yards and three scores.)

    The 19 wins over ranked opponents on the road span 1959 through 2003. Don James (1975-92) coached nine, which included two in 1991 (Nebraska and California) when the Huskies were en route to a share of the national championship. UW’s victories over ranked opponents on the road, sorted by opponent rank:

    Year Date Coach Opponent Rnk Result UW QB
    1980 Nov. 15 Don James at USC 2 W 20-10 Tom Flick
    1984 Sept. 15 Don James at Michigan 2 W 20-11 Hugh Millen
    1982 Nov. 13 Don James at ASU 3 W 17-13 Steve Pelluer
    2002 Nov. 23 Rick Neuheisel at WSU 3 W 29-26 Cody Pickett
    1994 Sept. 24 Jim Lambright at Miami 5 W 38-20 Damon Huard
    1991 Oct. 19 Don James at Cal 7 W 24-17 B. Joe Hobert
    1998 Sept. 5 Jim Lambright at ASU 8 W 42-38 Brock Huard
    1991 Sept. 21 Don James at Nebraska 9 W 36-21 B. Joe Hobert
    1959 Oct. 24 Jim Owens at Oregon 11 W 13-12 Bob Schloredt
    1975 Nov. 1 Don James at UCLA 13 W 17-13 Warren Moon
    1993 Oct. 9 Jim Lambright at Cal 16 W 24-23 Damon Huard
    1995 Oct. 14 Jim Lambright at Stanford 16 W 38-28 Damon Huard
    1978 Oct. 14 Don James at Stanford 18 W 34-31 Warren Moon
    1986 Oct. 11 Don James at Stanford 18 W 24-14 Chris Chandler
    2010 Oct. 2 Steve Sarkisian at USC 18 W 32-31 Jake Locker
    1997 Sept. 6 Jim Lambright at BYU 19 W 42-20 Brock Huard
    1980 Oct. 18 Don James at Stanford 20 W 27-24 Tom Flick
    2003 Oct. 18 K. Gilbertson at OSU 22 W 38-17 Cody Pickett
    2002 Nov. 16 Rick Neuheisel at Oregon 23 W 42-14 Cody Pickett

    Oddsmakers have established Washington as a 20-point underdog to Andrew Luck-led Stanford. The Huskies have never overcome such odds to beat a AP Top 10 foe on the road. The longest odds overcome: UW entered the “Whammy in Miami” game in 1994 as a 14-point underdog. The only other time they won as a double-digit underdog: at USC in 1980 when gamblers picked the Trojans by 13.

    What follows are brief sketches of Washington’s eight victories over AP Top 10 opponents on the road, listed according to the ranking of the opponent:

    Unranked UW 20, No. 2 USC 10 (Nov. 15, 1980): A 73-yard punt return TD by Husky CB Ray Horton became the key play in a game in which Washington withstood a 216-yard rushing effort by the Trojans’ Marcus Allen. UW entered the contest as 13-point underdogs (Horton is now the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals).

    No. 16 UW 20, No. 2 Michigan 11 (Sept. 15, 1984): Quarterback Hugh Millen’s 73-yard, third-quarter touchdown pass to WR Mark Pattison on the first play of the second half gave Washington the victory in front of 103,072 stunned Michigan fans in Ann Arbor.  Millen is the only quarterback in UW history to direct victories over two top AP Top 3 opponents (he also orchestrated Washington’s 28-17 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in the 1985 Orange Bowl).

    No. 7 UW 17, No. 3 ASU (Nov. 13, 1982): Some 3,000 fans, who watched the game (played in Tempe) on a special big screen in an otherwise deserted Husky Stadium, stormed into the end zone and tore down the goal posts after the Huskies polished off the Sun Devils.

    Unranked UW 29, No. 3 Washington State 26, 3 OTs (Nov. 23, 2002): John Anderson kicked five FGs, including the game-winner from 49 yards, as the Huskies won the first three-overtime game in the history of the Apple Cup and kept WSU from clinching an appearance in the Rose Bowl.

    No. 19 UW 38, No. 5 Miami 20 (Sept. 24, 1994): The Hurricanes, a 14-point favorite featuring Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp, had not lost at the Orange Bowl in 58 games over eight years before Washington pulled off the improbable “Whammy in Miami.” Key play: Damon Huard’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Richard Thomas.

    No. 3 UW 24, No. 7 California 17 (Oct. 19, 1991): The Bears entered the game 5-0, their best start in 29 years. Key moment occurred on the third play of the fourth quarter when Beno Bryant raced 65 yards for a touchdown. His backfield mate, Jay Barry, finished with 143 yards and a touchdown.

    No. 18 UW 42, No. 8 Arizona State 38 (Sept. 5, 1998): In the season opener for both teams, UW quarterback Brock Huard sealed the win when, facing a fourth-and-17 from his 37-yard line in the fourth quarter, he hit TE Reggie Davis with a 63-yard touchdown pass.

    No. 4 UW 36, No. 9 Nebraska 21 (Sept. 21, 1991): Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers had won 20 consecutive non-conference road games and appeared headed for an upset over the Huskies, a three-point favorite. But UW scored four unanswered TDs in the fourth quarter — Billy Joe Hobert threw for two scores and ran for a third — and notched its most impressive win in a 12-0 season.

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    6 Comments

    1. Tian Biao on October 20, 2011 8:28 pm

      Best win was none of the four games above. Best road win was beating the cougars in 2002. it’s always about the cougars. always.

    2. Tian Biao on October 20, 2011 12:28 pm

      Best win was none of the four games above. Best road win was beating the cougars in 2002. it’s always about the cougars. always.

    3. Katfish on October 21, 2011 1:58 am

      The Miami win was my favorite in part because of the 58 game win streak ending but also as I recollect a Miami head coach Dennis-something stated ” the loser of this game should consider the winner the national champion” or words to that effect relating to the shared national title.

    4. Katfish on October 20, 2011 5:58 pm

      The Miami win was my favorite in part because of the 58 game win streak ending but also as I recollect a Miami head coach Dennis-something stated ” the loser of this game should consider the winner the national champion” or words to that effect relating to the shared national title.

    5. marcelsees on October 21, 2011 1:23 pm

      This is just journalistic pessimism!  Washington was part of the PAC 8 hinterland until Don James brought the program to something approaching parody with the Southern California Schools in 1978.  So I’m not going to let the record, and all this negative talk harsh my buzz for this Saturday’s match-up.  It’s going to be a proving ground for both teams.  Unfortunately, I don’t see us prevailing in the trenches on either side of the ball.  But ya know, that football is a funny shape, and it doesn’t bounce in any predictable way.  Same can be said for college kids, and that’s why it’s a great game!

    6. marcelsees on October 21, 2011 5:23 am

      This is just journalistic pessimism!  Washington was part of the PAC 8 hinterland until Don James brought the program to something approaching parody with the Southern California Schools in 1978.  So I’m not going to let the record, and all this negative talk harsh my buzz for this Saturday’s match-up.  It’s going to be a proving ground for both teams.  Unfortunately, I don’t see us prevailing in the trenches on either side of the ball.  But ya know, that football is a funny shape, and it doesn’t bounce in any predictable way.  Same can be said for college kids, and that’s why it’s a great game!

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