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Best Husky Moments of the Pac-12 Era
WoolleyDoog
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 3,845 
I don't love the "Pac-12 era." I never thought expanding to 12 was a good idea, but it's a good way to group a period of time. What were the 10 best moments of the era?
- Beating Oregon in the Forever Pac-12 Championship to seal a 13-0 regular season and a CFP spot. Add in how sweet it was with Oregon and their fans and the media King Kong level chest beating about the rematch and then not only losing, but getting beaten on the fronts the way they did and blocking Nix from the Heisman was just epic.
- Beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl - Almost losing fucking sucked. Still, the first New Year's bowl win since 2000, against Sark, defying doubters, beating Sark again, and punching the ticket to the natty. Let's forget they should have won by double digits.
- 2016 Pac-12 Championship Game win - Yeah Colorado wasn't a juggernaut but the program hadn't won the conference in 16 years. This needed to happen. Points for also winning a comfortable game which is appreciated after the heart attacks of 2023. Also knowing the CFP or Rose Bowl laid ahead was incredible.
- 2016 Stanford beat down - Gotta remember how long Stanford had really been good at this point and they got just rag dolled for four glorious quarters in front of a packed Husky Stadium with a throwback crowd on a week night where the whole country was watching.
- Firing Jimmy - I was shocked the administration actually did it. I was fully ready for 1-2 more crippling years of Jimmy and officially becoming Minnesota. We had no idea how good things would go but I knew it was huge and gave the program a chance for the future.
- 2023 Oregon win - The setting of this game was incredible. The stadium was buzzing almost an hour before kick when I walked in. Every play felt like the Super Bowl. Electric. I hate that UW had to win in gut wrenching style instead of grinding things out when they could have up 11 with the ball in the third but at least we got an exhilarating win.
- 2022 Oregon win - The official marker of the return of big time Husky football. Ripped out Oregon's heart and CFP chances in Eugene. They had won a few in a row before this but this really I think ignited the team and gave them the confidence for the big run.
- 2018 Apple Cup win - The Cougs were confident. This was there year, until it wasn't. Locking up a shot at the conference championship and a Rose Bowl and getting some moral revenge for the Snow Bowl bullshit were bonus points.
- 2016 Apple Cup win - Blowing out a hyped up Coug team right off the bat and sealing a ticket to the championship game against a team we would be well favored over after 15 years of pain and mediocrity. Helluva day.
- Going up 7-0 on Bama - This is kind of a joke but there's some truth there. The problem with the 2016 season was everything felt a little bruised after that USC win and it felt like UW had no shot against Bama. Yet, there we were in Atlanta, with a touchdown lead against them, in a game where it felt like a team could legit win like 7-6.
What else?
Some other ideas - Officially getting a life raft to the Big 10, 70-21 breaking of the streak against Oregon, Surviving Utah to punch a ticket to the Rose Bowl in 2018, 2022 over Michigan State (gotta remember they were a highly ranked team at the time), the feeling after the 2022 Apple Cup until USC fucked us in Vegas, 2022 Sark plunger in Alamo Bowl, Penix coming back for one more year announcement.
Comments
2022 Oregon would be #3 to me just because if you take out the rivalry part of it, you beat the #5 or 6 team on the road and snapped a 20+ home game winning streak. Any other high profile team that isn't like Oregon State or WSU it wouldn't be seen as dooging to put that game up there. Plus, it really set up the confidence for everything else that followed. We had the best player in the conference for the next 1.5 seasons. Maybe you just had to be one of the ~1k doogs in the stadium.
2018 Apple Cup win I would put up higher because it was what will be seen as the last AC with massive national implications on the line for both schools. WSU would've beat Utah rather easily if they had that game at home. Lot of Legend status stuff like McGary's post game quote.
I don't know if they're top 10, maybe 12-14 but beating #11 beavlet on the road and then the nailbiter Apple Cup afterwards was huge since it was the last year of the conference and completed the only perfect conference season. And especially beavlet was pretty incredible to be there.
I really liked it when we bitched out due to COVID and our AD rooted for Oregon to rep the north for us. That’s a good memory.
You could sell me on 2022 Oregon at #3 easily. Crazy I just realized that was the first time Washington had ever beaten a really good Oregon team and how little of a shot anyone other than me and Joey were giving them. The sequence of plays to close the game was also felt like a shift given the past nearly 20 years of where everything was always just going to go in Oregon's way in close games.
I also kind of forget how favored WSU was in 2018. Gaskin sealing the game with that run was magical. I just have trouble dooging too much on Apple Cup wins since UW should win 9/10 times.
2023 Beav and Apple Cup I don't really like almost at all other than in the picture of getting to 12-0 and keeping all the dreams alive. They should have blown out both of those teams.
Shoving it up Josh "Look at my swag bag from Oregon!!!" Pate's ass and he had to report about it in the freezing pouring down rain after beavlet maybe just makes me more partial to it.
No disagreement with #1. Peak @Ballz in the face of Duck Nation.
Even if we lose at Autzen this Fall, I'm still gonna wear my shirt (shout out to @haie ) and smoke weed and talk shit.
I would pay a lot of money to get to have a conversation with that clown after that game but more so the championship game.
Great list. I love that you added number 10. I was one of the what felt like 300 UW fans at that game and it felt so great to lose our shit got five minutes and to look at all the Bama faithful look a bit nervous, if only for a moment.
A couple personal highlights:
Beating Utah in the 2018 Pac12 CCG was awesome. We closed on our house that day and watched the game at our old place. Once it ended, I jumped off the couch and yelled “we’re going to the fucking Rose Bowl!” and Mrs Nacho said “we are?” and started looking up airfare.
The 2018 Apple Cup simply because of all the shit talking from the Coug about Minshew and Snow Bowl II. Gaskin’s long TD run was beautiful as was the Murphy interception in the snow.
I almost didn’t watch the 2023 Pac12 CCG in real time but Mrs Nacho basically called me pussy for wanting to wait to find out the score before watching.
Yeah wanted to put that in there because it was kind of hard to capture how that CFP felt because I think everyone was always so defeated once the matchups were announced and were happy just to be there. Immediately giving up a touchdown drive to Bama's limited offense, then the Ross fumble when they were actually still moving the ball well, then -5 yards on three drives and the Cobra Jack pick six. Man it died quick.
Not just going to Vegas because I didn't trust myself to see Duck fans again is my biggest regret ever as a fan.
At Levi's for the 2018 ccg every Utah fan walking out of that stadium had a look on their face that they would never beat Washington again.
Good thing for them Peterman quiet quit and Eason thought it was a good idea to throw a fadeaway to the flat against their NFL corner.
Why did I click this thread.
Sugar Bowl should be #1
70-21 belongs on the list because of what it meant at the time and it’s an all time plunger rape
Take going up 7-0 on Bama off the list. #hangthebanner
Going up 7-0 and losing to Bama is one of the doogiest pieces of shit I've ever seen. JFC. SHAME.