Once in a great while comes a moment, a series, a game so unforgettable that even hard-bitten journalists have to smile and say they thought they’d seen it all.
It wasn’t just that the Washington Huskies pulled off the upset of their year with a 27-19 win over eighth-ranked Washington State on Saturday. The most remarkable aspect was the fact that it came on the heels of what many consider the worst performance of the program’s history in a 54-7 loss at Cal.
What appeared to be a disinterested, dispirited UW defense gave up a school-record 729 yards against the Bears.
Quitters, they were called, the deepest insult in sports. Their own coach questioned their effort. Media, alums and fans alternated between feelings of horror, embarrassment and anger.
So what happened?
Apple Cup. And they cared again.
They were publicly disgraced and it cut deeply. The members of the defense couldn’t take the Cal game back, so they put everything into stopping Washington State. Washington’s defense, the same one that rolled over against Cal, manhandled a better offensive team with five interceptions and two fumbles.
Safety Evan Benjamin dedicated his game to senior teammate Owen Biddle, who bluffed his way into the starting lineup by saying his aching shoulder was fine, that he could play.
It wasn’t, as it turned out.
“He lasted about 12 seconds,” UW coach Keith Gilbertson said.
All Benjamin did was come up with two interceptions and a team-high 10 tackles, one for a loss.
End Manase Hopoi recovered two fumbles and had a sack for a 10-yard loss. Safety Jimmy Newell came up with a crucial interception that cut off a promising drive and had seven tackles, one for a loss.
“We had something to prove,” Hopoi said. “We don’t want to be remembered for what happened at Cal.”
The defense left the Cougars confused by blitzing nearly every other play. When starting quarterback Matt Kegel could take no more punishment, it was freshman Josh Swogger’s turn. Swogger was 10-for-23 passing and threw three picks. He was sacked twice.
Pride does that. So does a game with a rival.
“I’ve been around here since the ’70s and I think that in every generation there has been a misconception that this game has meant more to the Washington State people than the Washington people, and that just isn’t true,” Gilbertson said. “Our kids had a pretty tight jaw on Monday and Tuesday and I felt they were going to do something special here tonight.”
They did. The 2003 Apple Cup has its own story, its own characters. In this rivalry, upsets are common. Each team loves to ruin the other’s season.
The magnitude of Washington’s sudden turnaround has to rank high among the finest moments in Puget Sound’s sports history.
It was Griffey in ‘95 rounding third against the Yankees in Game 5 and scoring the series-winning run. It was Efren Herrera catching a pass off a fake field goal on Monday Night Football. It was an aching, limping Nate McMillan giving the Sonics a Willis Reed spark in a rout of Michael Jordan and the Bulls in an NBA Finals game.
Husky Stadium returned to its bleacher-shaking self Saturday. If the 6-6 Huskies don’t go to a bowl game, they’ll at least have that.
And they will have earned the respect of the hard-bitten journalists who called them quitters only a week ago.
John Sleeper is The Herald’s college writer.
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