Football
The University football team's first game was in 1889.
From 1907 to 1917, Washington football teams were unbeaten in 63 consecutive games, an NCAA Division I-A record. During this period, Washington won 39 games in a row under coach Gil Dobie, currently the second longest winning streak in NCAA Division I-A history. In 1916, Dobie finished his remarkable coaching career at Washington with an undefeated 58-0-3 record.
The 1925 team posted an undefeated record but lost to Alabama 21-20 in the Rose Bowl. The 1960 team finished 10-1, under coach Jim Owens, and won its second consecutive Rose Bowl by defeating national champion Minnesota 17-7 (the national champion was declared before the bowl games in 1960). Coach Owens served from 1957 to 1974. Don James became head coach in 1975 and transformed the team into a national power while compiling a 153-57-2 record. James' first successful year was in 1977 with the team quarterbacked by Warren Moon culminating in a 27-20 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Washington and Michigan played again in the Rose Bowl in 1981 resulting in a Michigan win 23-11. The next year, the Huskies returned to the Rose Bowl and defeated Iowa 28-0, the last Rose Bowl shutout and the only shutout in the past half century. Following a two-year hiatus during which cross-state rival WSU prevented the Huskies from Rose Bowl appearances by defeating them in the last game of the 1982 and 1983 seasons, Washington posted an 11-1 record and beat Oklahoma 28-17 to win the Orange Bowl. Senior running back, Jacque Robinson won the MVP award and was the first player to win MVP awards for both the Orange and Rose Bowls.
The 1991 team is considered to be the best Washington Husky football team and among the best in college football history. The team went undefeated, steamrolling opponents by an average score of 42-9 in regular season, including wins over No. 9 Nebraska, No. 7 California and a 34-14 win over No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. In 2000, Washington finished with an 11-1 record, and won its seventh Rose Bowl under the leadership of Marques Tuiasosopo. In 2009, under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Huskies snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 42-23 victory over Idaho. The following week, Washington crushed the spirits of then-No. 3 USC, winning 16-13 on a last-second field goal. The Huskies rose to No. 25 in the polls after the victory but lost six of their next eight games to fall to 5-7 prior to a season finale showdown against No. 19-ranked California, where the Huskies won 42-10.
- National Championships Awarded or Claimed (4)
- 1960 (Helms), 1985 (B(QPRS), FN, NCF), 1990 (Rothman/FACT), 1991 (CNN and FWAA)
- Pac-12 Titles (15)
- 1916, 1919, 1925, 1936, 1959 (tie), 1960, 1963, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1992 (tie), 1995 (tie), 2000 (tie)
- Bowl History
- 16 wins, 14 losses, 1 tie
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Famous quotes containing the word football:
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)
“In this dream that dogs me I am part
Of a silent crowd walking under a wall,
Leaving a football match, perhaps, or a pit,
All moving the same way.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Idon’t enjoy getting knocked about on a football field for other people’s amusement. I enjoy it if I’m being paid a lot for it.”
—David Storey (b. 1933)