Huskies have old debt to settle

Thirty-four years ago, Washington became a part of Hawaii football lore.

According to the Hawaii football media guide, the Warriors’ 1973 win over the Huskies was the team’s “biggest upset in school history.”

Which begs the question: what’s the statute of limitation on revenge?

In a role reversal that would have seemed impossible a few decades ago, Washington is now looking for the shocking upset when it plays Hawaii on Saturday.

Never mind that the Huskies ended up 2-9 that season, it was a monumental win when Hawaii came to Seattle a huge underdog, and left as a 10-7 victor. The Huskies were coming off of back-to-back 8-3 seasons, while the Warriors were still two years from joining the Division I ranks, and had the likes of Santa Clara (do they even still have a football team?) the University of Puget Sound and Cal State Northridge looming on the schedule.

So when Hawaii surprised the Huskies on that September afternoon, it was a pretty big deal back home.

If ESPN and SportsCenter existed in the 1970s (picture Chris Berman in bell-bottoms… on second thought, don’t), the late-night addition on Sept. 15 would have brought countless replays of Hawaii’s Harold Stringer grabbing three interceptions. Stuart Scott would inevitably yell boo-yah and there would be a week’s worth of debate over just how big the upset was.

On Saturday, playing the Warriors for the first time since that 1973 game, the Huskies will try to avoid being a part of Hawaii history once again.

If that win 34 years ago was Hawaii’s biggest upset, Saturday could mark the team’s most significant victory. That’s not to say beating Washington this season is a huge deal — eight other teams already have managed it. But a win over Washington this weekend would be monumental for what it can bring to the school, as well as the Western Athletic Conference.

“We had Washington circled,” Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan said. “Even though they have the record they have, they’ve still shown that they’re a tremendously talented football team and I think a victory over them would do a lot for us.”

Indeed it would. A win this weekend for Hawaii makes a BCS bowl game a reality. That means not only credibility for the Warriors and their conference, but the millions of dollars that come with BCS games.

Imagine if the Warriors could somehow knock off LSU in the Sugar Bowl only a year after Boise State shocked Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

So yeah, the Huskies might be 4-8 and playing for pride and very little else, but this game is big on the national stage nonetheless.

“When we got to 8-0, we knew that every game was going to be the biggest game in the history of the program,” said Hawaii coach June Jones, never one to undersell things.

The Huskies would love nothing more Saturday than to make a few headlines by pulling an upset. The good news for the Huskies is that history is on their side. After all, the Warriors still must have been seething from their 1938 loss to Washington when they pulled off the 1973 upset. So clearly, it’s the Huskies turn for payback, right?

“Me, I love it,” Washington receiver Marcel Reece said of the chance to ruin Hawaii’s perfect season. “We don’t get a chance to go to a bowl game, which was one of our team goals this year, but we do get to try to spoil something for a good team and that’s something that you can always look forward to. They’re ranked, they’re undefeated and we can do something big and spoil it for them. It sounds bad, it sounds mean, but it’s something that we can do.”

Clearly, the words of a man still holding onto a 34-year-old grudge.

Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com.