For the past the 25 years or so, the bitter border war between the Ducks and Huskies has been largely defined by three distinct things:
- “The Pick”
- “The Streak”
- “The Point”
With “The Streak” serving as Oregon’s “Duckade of Dominance” over Washington, defined by a 12-year winning streak that spanned from 2004 to 2015, roughly book-ending that period was “The Pick” and “The Point.” The former referencing Kenny Wheaton’s 97-yard interception return for a touchdown, which secured a dramatic 31-20 win for the Ducks over the then no. 9 Huskies in 1994, sparking Oregon’s run to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years. The play, of course, is also revered by Duck fans as the watershed moment that unofficially launched the Oregon football program into the national conscious, as Oregon has made 20 postseason appearances since that time. (The Ducks had enjoyed only nine postseason appearances in the 77 years previous to “The Pick.”)
“The Point,” however, is remembered with far less reverence for those who bleed green and yellow. Lest you forget, it’s the moment in which Washington quarterback Jake Browning mockingly pointed in the direction of former Oregon linebacker Jimmie Swain as Browning crossed the goal line to give the Huskies an early 7-0 lead en route to their 70-21 beatdown of the Ducks in 2016. The win emphatically snapped Oregon’s 12-year winning streak over the Huskies.
“The Point” has also served as a reminder of the two divergent roads the respective programs have traveled since that day.
For Oregon, the game marked the beginning of the end for former head coach Mark Helfrich (who would go on to be fired at the end of the season) and signaled the start of a necessary period of rebuilding that began with former head coach Willie Taggart, and continues to this day under current Oregon head man Mario Cristobal.
For Washington, it was a signature win in Year 3 of the Chris Petersen era that completed a necessary next step in a return to glory for the Huskies, who would go on to win their first conference championship since 2000 and establish themselves as the ruling class in the Pac-12 to this current day.
Could Saturday mark another changing of the guard in the conference?
It’s an interesting thought to consider given the way the last few weeks have unfolded for both teams.
In Seattle, the season has taken on a bit of a curious flavor. Ranked in the top 10 to start the year, Washington was a trendy pick among national pundits to not only emerge as the eventual Pac-12 champion, but also finish the season as one of the nation’s top four teams for the College Football Playoff. Their pursuit of those expectations hit a bump in the road on opening weekend, as the Huskies fell 21-16 to then-no. 9 Auburn in Atlanta.
Furthermore, aside from a 35-7 dismantling of BYU two weeks ago, Washington has shown vulnerability that has belied their current ranking as the nation’s no. 7 ranked team. In narrow conference wins versus Utah, Arizona State, and UCLA, Washington has looked clunky, largely lacking consistency on offense starting with the aforementioned Browning. With perhaps their most difficult test on deck this weekend in Eugene, Washington’s conference title hopes – not to mention their flickering national title aspirations – sit in serious jeopardy.
Meanwhile, in Eugene, the Ducks have largely cruised to their 4-1 mark – excluding of course their unthinkable second half collapse against Stanford nearly three weeks ago. To Oregon’s credit, the loss hasn’t seemed to have had a lingering impact on this team, but it was a victory that was supposed to kick off the Cristobal era in style and officially re-announce Oregon as a legitimate threat for the Pac-12 crown.
That opportunity not only eluded Cristobal, but Justin Herbert as well, who earned his first career start in the 2016 drubbing to the Huskies and is still searching for his own signature victory as the starting quarterback for the Ducks. In fact, you can extend that all the way out to the program as a whole, which is still seeking its first landmark victory inside Autzen Stadium since 2014 when the Ducks knocked off then no. 7 Michigan State.
- “The Pick”
- “The Streak”
- “The Point”
It’s not a matter of if there will be a next chapter written in this rivalry. Just a matter of when.
Ducks-Huskies has never lacked deep-seated intensity and rancor between the two programs and their respective fan bases, but in 2018, all the pieces are in place for the 111th renewal of this fierce rivalry to deliver something worthy of the game’s notorious tapestry.
Ready or not, “Hate Week” is here.