#5: 2000
The turn of the century Huskies were in the thick of the national title discussion come bowl season. Oklahoma was in, and the main debate was hyper-focused on Miami vs. Florida State. Miami had defeated Florida State at home 27-24, but the BCS computers determined Oklahoma’s opponent should be Florida State.
Forgot in the mix was the 2000 Huskies, who defeated Miami in Husky Stadium 34-29. It hurt Washington losing in “The Cascade Clash” to Oregon in Autzen Stadium 23-16 in what was Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington’s coming out party, as the Ducks possessed the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.
Overall, quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo was the heart of this team. He conducted three second-half comebacks in Pac-10 play following the Oregon defeat, delivering a Rose Bowl MVP effort with 213 total yards and two touchdowns in a 34-24 defeat of Purdue.
#4: 1960
Putting one of the two recognized national championship teams Washington has at No. 4 may be controversial. But what lies ahead may justify their position.
Head coach Jim Owens had his Montlake coaching magnum opus. After losing All-American quarterback Bob Schloredt to a dislocated shoulder, the resolve the 1960 Huskies showed was eerily similar to this current 2023 team.
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Washington, without Schloredt, won four games by a single point, including a 7-6 classic against rival Oregon, where the Ducks had two opportunities to make an extra point to tie the game and failed both times. Schloredt returned to the Huskies for an MVP effort in the Rose Bowl, where Washington defeated No. 1 Minnesota 17-7.
So why are the 1960 Huskies at No. 4?
Washington lost to Navy earlier in the season 15-14 in a game that many pollsters weren’t willing to forgive as easily, and in the final polls, the AP had Washington at No. 6 and the UPI at No. 5.
#3: 2023
If there was ever a player in Washington history to challenge Steve Emtman as “The Washington Monument” as the greatest Husky, it might be quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Penix, in his two seasons in Seattle, has guided the Huskies to a 25-2 record which includes three wins against the hated Oregon Ducks, a Pac-12 Championship, and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship. His leadership helped Washington win eight one-possession games during the 2023 season.
Flanking Penix was a trio of wide receivers that are the nation’s top wide receiving group in Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan. Running back Dillon Johnson became the perfect complement at running back and, a handful of times, stepped up in big spots (Arizona, Southern California, Oregon) to give Washington the much-needed spark.
Equally on defense edge rusher Bralen Trice has been to this group what Emtman meant to the 1991 group, an ultimate disruptor that has been one of the nation’s best at pressuring the quarterback.
Washington EDGE Bralen Trice over the past two seasons:
2023: 70 QB Pressures (1st)
2022: 70 QB Pressures (1st) pic.twitter.com/qihovLUYKm— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 31, 2023
Additionally, Washington snapped Michigan’s reign as the Joe Moore Award winner for the nation’s top offensive line. Leading up to the Sugar Bowl, there were words exchanged in the media between Penix and Texas defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat about how good each line was.
The Husky line did not allow a single sack of Penix.
#2: 1984
A very painful scar for Husky Nation is the fallout of the 1984 vote for the national championship.
Washington traveled to Ann Arbor earlier the year and beat No. 3 Michigan 20-11 in one of Don James’ signature road wins he had at Washington.
Following their 37-15 win over Stanford, Washington became the No. 1 team in the nation and would hold that for four weeks. The only blemish on the 1984 Huskies came at The Coliseum, where Southern Cal managed to pull off the 16-7 upset.
Washington was able to draw the at-large Orange Bowl bid against Big 8 and No. 2 Oklahoma. Following a narrow win in the Holiday Bowl for first-ranked BYU, there was still much debate about who should be No. 1, led by Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. He believed his Sooners were the best in the country, referring to BYU’s schedule as “Bo Diddley Tech.”
After Washington defeated Oklahoma 28-17 in the Orange Bowl, Switzer proclaimed, “Washington’s the best team in the country. They’re the best team we’ve played this year.”
What was left was the vote, and this is what led to (and continues to lead to) many sour feelings in Seattle. Washington finished No. 2 behind BYU by one of the slimmest votes in the history of the polls: 1,160 for BYU to 1,140 for Washington.
What gave legendary coach Don James the most sour taste was that the coaches were in lock-step to not vote for Florida at No. 1 due to them being on probation. But six writers chose to vote Florida No. 1, giving way to BYU’s national championship.
James said of finishing second, “I’m not going to jump off a damn roof. I already sold myself on the fact I’m so proud of what this team did that I’m not going to hang my head.”
#1: 1991
“The Dawgfather’s” opus to Washington and to college football.
When you list the greatest teams to ever play in college football, you won’t have to look far to find the 1991 Huskies.
The greatest Husky, unless you feel it is Penix, is defensive lineman Steve Emtman, who was a generational talent ahead of his time. During his time in Seattle, he collected every major lineman award and was a unanimous All-American. Then Stanford head coach Dennis Green said of Emtman, “Probably the best defensive lineman in the last 10 years.”
Emtman anchored a defense that allowed 67 yards rushing per game and allowed 9.2 points per game.
On offense, wide receiver Mario Bailey and center Ed Cunningham captained an offense that featured quarterbacks Mark Brunnell, Billy Joe Hobert, running backs Napoleon Kauffman and Jay Barry, tight end Mark Bruener, along with tackle Lincoln Kennedy powered Washington to the nation’s second-best scoring offense at 38.4 points per game.
The 1991 Huskies had a few signature moments. If the 1984 Michigan game is in the conversation as the program’s greatest road win, the other strong contender was Washington’s visit to Lincoln to play Nebraska. Running back Jay Barry had an 81-yard touchdown that sealed the win for the Huskies.
In the 1992 Rose Bowl against Michigan, cornerback Dana Hall slowed Heisman Trophy winner wide receiver Desmond Howard to just 50 yards of total offense and no touchdowns (Howard had 21 total touchdowns during the 1991 regular season).
Would the 2023 Washington Huskies with a win be greater than the 1991 team?
I went back and forth between the 1984 and 2023 squads.
I always felt the 1984 Washington Huskies were one of the most dominant teams not only in Washington Huskies history but in Pac-12 history. The loss to Southern California hurts, but when you look back at that team, Danny Greene was a slick receiver, and Jacque Robinson (who had an MVP effort in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma with 135 yards and a touchdown) was a great back. Quarterback Hugh Millen was a masterful conductor, and the defense was suffocating, allowing only 10.7 points per game. That is just too hard to ignore.
A win Monday, at minimum, puts 2023 Washington No. 2 in Washington lore, leaving the all-time great 1991 Washington Huskies.
Over the summer, I digitalized eight classic games from the 1991 Washington team that I had on VHS to an external drive and rewatched those games, and I covered Washington throughout this season.
The similarities are there. Both Kalen DeBoer and Don James are stoic and confident leaders who know what to do and say when it matters most. How DeBoer owns Lanning and his ability to adjust his game on a week-by-week basis, especially when they were in a track meet against Southern California or grind-it-out situations against Arizona, Oregon State, or for the Apple Cup, is one area James would approve of DeBeor.
Both teams had a chip on their shoulders heading into the season. Both used the previous season as a motivating factor. I always felt the 1990 Huskies, with one-possession losses to UCLA and eventual national champion Colorado, knew how good they were, and that feeling fueled them in their title-winning campaign.
Even with the 2000 Huskies and the Chris Petersen teams of 2016 and 2017, the only team that reminded me of 1991 was this group.
Michael Penix Jr. on offense has a Steve Emtman-like quality. His arm talent is rare. There isn’t a throw he cannot make, and both men exuded confidence that permeated the locker room.
Where I ultimately give the 1991 Huskies a slight edge is that while the 2023 group always found a way to win, the 1991 Huskies dominated, and that cannot be discounted. They defeated 11 of 12 opponents by 10 points or more. Only Cal, which was ranked No. 7 at the time, managed to keep it within 10 points of the Huskies.
In contrast, there is beauty in the way the 2023 team won nine games by single-digit margins. I am not trying to marginalize the ultimate clutch gene this team has.
If you ask me, it really comes down between the 1991 and 2023 squads. If Washington were to win Monday night against Michigan, the question you have to ask yourself is, what do you value most? If it’s dominance, then you take the ’91 team. If it’s coming through in the clutch and finding a way to win no matter what, it’s this year’s group.
For me, give me the dominance and 1991.
