Saturday’s Peach Bowl showdown with Alabama, a semifinal matchup of the College Football Playoff, will undoubtedly be one of the biggest games in the long and distinguished history of University of Washington football.
But to date the biggest game in UW history was played on Jan. 1, 1992, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
On that day, Washington faced Michigan in the 78th Rose Bowl game, a meeting of the Pac-10 Conference champion Huskies and the Wolverines, winners of the Big 10 Conference. Washington was ranked No. 1 nationally by the USA Today/CNN coaches’ poll and No. 2 in The Associated Press poll, and the Huskies had a chance to be crowned the undisputed national champions with a victory over Michigan.
As it turned out, Washington used a dominating second half to blow past the Wolverines and their Heisman Trophy winner, wide receiver Desmond Howard, 34-14. A day later the Huskies remained No. 1 on the final coaches’ poll, but Miami — coached by Everett native Dennis Erickson — likewise stayed No. 1 on the AP poll, having beaten No. 22 Nebraska, 22-0, in the Orange Bowl.
Even today, there is an obvious feeling of accomplishment for all the coaches and players on that 1991 Washington team, including starting free safety Shane Pahukoa, a 1989 graduate of Marysville Pilchuck High School.
The 46-year-old Pahukoa, who lives today in the Los Angeles area, says replays of the 1992 Rose Bowl sometimes show up on TV “and it’s fun to watch. It was a great game, and you watch it and think, ‘Gosh, we were really good.’”
The Huskies scored first that day on a 2-yard run by quarterback Billy Joe Hobert early in the second quarter. Michigan answered with a touchdown, but Washington eased on top to stay later in the period with a pair of field goals by place-kicker Travis Hanson.
In the second half it was pretty much all Washington. Hobert passed to tight end Mark Breuner, who caught the ball while tip-toeing along the back line of the end zone for a third-quarter touchdown. Hobert threw another TD pass to tight end Aaron Pierce in the fourth quarter, and backup Mark Brunell later tossed a scoring strike to wide receiver Mario Bailey, who struck a Heisman pose in the end zone — a gibe intended to confirm that he was every bit as good as Howard.
Trailing 34-7, the Wolverines managed a late touchdown to make the score less one-sided.
Though it is easy to look back after 25 years and see in one sweeping glimpse the entirety of the undefeated season, including the Rose Bowl win and the national championship, it was never that way in 1991, according to Pahukoa.
Even before the Rose Bowl, “that was not something that Coach (Don) James was preaching, that we were going to go win (the Rose Bowl) and be the national champions,” he said. Throughout the season “we were just playing week to week and we kept winning games and then we prepared for the next week.
“It was not until after the fact, like the next morning (following the Rose Bowl) when we were reading the newspapers, and then it was like, ‘Wow, we really did something crazy.’”
Given that he played in the biggest football game in UW history — and likewise the biggest game of his own life — Pahukoa offered this advice to the Washington players as they prepare for Saturday’s game against Alabama.
James, he said, “never let us get too far out of our comfort zone. At the Rose Bowl we weren’t doing too many activities. He always brought it back to why we were there. He’d say, ‘This (trip) is business. You can celebrate all you want afterwards, but we’re here for one purpose.’
“He said, ‘A lot of you guys have been here four years and this is what you’ve built up to, this one moment. And now we’re here.’”
That moment continues to resonate in Pahukoa’s life, and it happens whenever he reunites with former teammates or attends a Washington game — and he was at the UW games against Stanford, USC, California and Colorado this season.
“The only time I wear any of my (Rose Bowl and national championship) rings is when I go to a Washington game,” Pahukoa said. “When I go to the game, people (recognize) me, and they want to see the ring and they want to put it on. They want to take pictures with it. And for me to be able to do that, I love it.
“It’s not a bragging thing for me. Those fans followed us 25 years ago, and they still love it and they’ll never forget about it.”
The Herald’s Biggest Games in UW History
Washington’s 1992 Rose Bowl win against Michigan remains the biggest game in UW football history. Here are other games The Herald has included in the Top 10:
No. 2 — vs. Minnesota, 1961 Rose Bowl. In an era when the final AP and UPI polls were announced before the season-ending bowl games, sixth-ranked Washington beat top-ranked Minnesota, 17-7. Nonetheless, Minnesota was the national champion on both polls, despite finishing with two losses. The Helms Athletic Foundation poll, which was announced after the bowl games, gave the national title to 10-1 Washington, which had only an early-season loss to Navy.
No. 3 — vs. Oklahoma, 1985 Orange Bowl. A late-season loss to USC kept No. 4 Washington from winning the Pac-10 and playing in the Rose Bowl, but the consolation prize was a trip to the Orange Bowl and a game against second-ranked Oklahoma. Though the Huskies rallied with two fourth-quarter TDs for a 28-17 win, they ended up No. 2 on both polls behind national champ BYU.
No. 4 — vs. Alabama, 1926 Rose Bowl. In the 12th Rose Bowl game, 10-0-1 Washington took on 9-0 Alabama. Everett’s George Wilson was a UW star, rushing 15 times for 134 yards and completing five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, but the game came down to PATs; Alabama made two of three and Washington missed two of three in a 20-19 loss.
No. 5 — vs. Michigan, 1978 Rose Bowl. In the game that put Washington and third-year coach Don James in the national spotlight, the 13th-ranked Huskies shocked No. 4 Michigan 27-20. Washington led 24-0 and 27-3 in the third quarter, then held off a furious Wolverines comeback in the late minutes.
No. 6 — vs. Miami, 1994. In a game that came to be known as “the Whammy in Miami,” the 19th-ranked Huskies overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit with a dominating second half to win 38-20 and end fifth-ranked Miami’s home winning streak at 58 games.
No. 7 — vs. Nebraska, 1991. Washington’s road to the 1991 national title led through Lincoln, Neb., for an early-season game. The Huskies, ranked No. 4 at the time, trailed No. 9 Nebraska 21-9 late in the third quarter, but scored 27 unanswered points for a convincing 36-21 victory.
No. 8 — vs. Colorado, 2016. The Huskies would not be facing Alabama on Saturday had they not defeated ninth-ranked Colorado 41-10 in the Dec. 2 Pac-12 Championship game. Washington, ranked fourth, outscored the Buffaloes 34-3 over the final three quarters for its first Pac-12 title.
No. 9 — vs. Wisconsin, 1960 Rose Bowl. In its first Rose Bowl in 16 years, eighth-ranked Washington demolished No. 6 Wisconsin 44-8. Only a midseason loss to USC kept the Huskies from an undefeated season and perhaps an outright or shared national championship.
No. 10 — vs. Washington State, 1981. With a Rose Bowl berth awaiting the winner (the 17th-ranked Huskies also needed USC to beat UCLA the same day), host Washington defeated the 14th-ranked Cougars 23-10; USC also won, sending the Huskies to Pasadena, Calif.
Rich Myhre
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