Let's Get These Coaches Acclimated

Washington vs. Oregon enters into a new era this year with two new head coaches. Mike Bellotti won’t be coaching in the game for the first time since 1988. It’s the first time since 2003 that Washington has had a pulse. It seems to me that we need a rivalry refresher. As such, I sat the new guys down for a little Q&A session.

OTP: Coaches, thanks for being here. Fire away.

Steve Sarkisian: Thanks, Nick. First thing I have to say  is, from looking at results recently, you guys have owned us.
OTP: Is that a question?
Sarkisian: Not really. I mean, it’s pretty much a fact and I just thought I’d mention it.
OTP: Well, yes it is and thanks for the note, but I’m here to help you understand this rivalry, not repeat the fact that Oregon has owned Washington with five straight wins and an average margin of victory of just under 23 points, ok?

Sarkisian: Got it. Here’s a question, then. Who is this Rick Neuheisel I keep hearing about? Only thing I know about him is he told us at USC that our dynasty was over. Seemed absurd.
OTP: Now you’re talking. Nueheisel was essentially Washington’s answer to Oregon’s mid-90s dominance when they took 3 of 4 from the Huskies. Scared as hell that lowly Oregon was surpassing their program, they found a coach that could actually beat the Ducks. See, Neuheisel had defeated Oregon twice in bowl games while at Colorado. This included the 1996 Cotton Bowl where he pissed off Oregon with a fake punt in a game the Ducks were getting blown out. He was a natural fit for Washington.

Sarkisian: So how’d it go?
OTP: Haha, famously. Well, until it became a disaster. He went 2-1 against the Ducks and was pretty much hated south of the border. In other words, just what Washington wanted. There was no love between him and Mike Bellotti. He has a shady recruiter that was really good at bending the rules without actually breaking them. But then he did break them. And got fired. It was messy, but along the way he got Washington back to the Rose Bowl and to this date, is still the last Husky coach with a winning season.

Chip Kelly: Didn’t Oregon do something with Rick and a video board?
OTP: Someone’s been studying. In 2001, at the Civil War with Washington recruits in attendance, Oregon repeatedly played a clip of a woman vomiting juxtaposed against an image of Neuheisel. Frankly, I thought it was in good taste, but Oregon later apologized.

Sarkisian: That seems mean. Was it nasty when Neuheisel was around?
OTP: You could say that. There were absurd accusations that Bellotti was using the Huskies list to recruit players. Oregon safety Keith Lewis sparked some spirited trash talk in the media for a couple years. Washington even concluded a dominant win in Autzen Stadium by dancing at midfield on Oregon’s logo in 2002. By the time Neuheisel was fired in the offseason before the 2003 campaign, the rivalry may have been at its peak.

Kelly: I keep watching this highlight video before home games and they always end with the same play. They’re wearing this uniform I’ve never seen with a Duck that looks like Donald. What the heck happened?
OTP: Well, Chip, I’m glad you brought that up. In 1994…
Kelly: 1994! That’s when football started right?
OTP: Yes Chip. Now don’t interrupt me again. In 1994, Oregon came into the game against Washington with only three wins in the series dating back to 1974. The Huskies had gone to six Rose Bowls in that span and Oregon had only recently competed in a bowl game five years earlier for the first time since 1963. In other words, Oregon had been really bad, Washington really good. The Huskies came into Autzen Stadium highly ranked and again gunning for a Rose Bowl appearance. Late in the game, a guy named Damon Huard drove the Huskies on a late drive that was aiming to break the hearts of all Duck fans. Then, this happened.
Sarkisian: What’s “this?”
OTP: You just need to click the link when I post this, ok, Steve? To answer your question, Chip, that “replay” you see every Saturday is your program’s defining moment. It touched off a Rose Bowl run for the first time since 1957 and more importantly, it changed the course of Oregon football. For 15 years since, the Ducks have been a different program. They’ve won 10 of 14 in the series. It was, as you stated a moment ago, the birth of modern Oregon football.

Sarkisian: Did you guys really throw feces and urine at us?
OTP: Ah, Steve refers to the legend that Oregon fans hurled dog feces and urine at Washington players. I’ll tell you what. I’m just going to say it’s true, because I want you to feel frightened next year when you visit Autzen. But if you really believe that, don’t blame me for calling you dumb.

Sarkisian: Ok, I guess it didn’t happen. But I was wondering if you ever heard of this half national title Washington won in the 1991 season?
OTP: Whoever heard of half a title? What does that mean? Does it really even count? I mean, Washington cheated so much back then, it made Tonya Harding blush. Actually, that brings up another point. Washington’s dominant run was killed when it was discovered the Huskies had been rampantly cheating. They were put on probation and the program has never since sustained success like it did for those 20 or so years. This is something Oregon fans revel in.

Kelly: Cheaters, huh?
OTP: Yep, cheaters.

Kelly: Is this really a rivalry anymore? I’ve been here two years and it seems pretty boring.
OTP: Funny you should say that. Used to be, Husky fans wouldn’t acknowledge the rivalry. But for the recent lull, blame Tyrone Willingham. He was big on running a classy operation, but didn’t seem to care much about winning.

Sarkisian: I think I got a solution for that. Have you seen Nick Holt?
OTP: Very promising, coach. I like what you did, there. Frankly, and no offense to you, I thought the Huskies hired the wrong USC offensive coordinator. Lane Kiffin would have been way more fun. But you seem to possess a quality I could get annoyed with and Holt certainly will be easy to hate. Let’s just say I’m intrigued and hopeful.

Kelly: Hey, did you see what I did in the spring? I’m trying to kickstart this thing into gear.
OTP: Yeah, good work, Chip. We need more. Digs at Washington when there’s really no reason for it is completely acceptable in my book and, frankly, I want more if it.

Kelly: I’ll do my best. I’ll start it off with a win this weekend, ok?
Sarkisian: Hey, look out, we’re back!
OTP: No you’re not. Not yet, anyway.