What Husky fans have to say about the UW vs. Oregon rivalry game

1 of 3 | Huskies fans cheer in a sea of purple during the first quarter Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)

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By Sophia Vesely Seattle Times staff reporter

A sellout crowd of 72,376 flooded Husky Stadium on Saturday for Washington’s highly anticipated rivalry game and senior day against No. 6 Oregon, with the majority of fans decked in purple. 

Shortly after the crowd’s roars as the Huskies stormed the field through purple smoke, boos reverberated off the stands when the Ducks took the field.

“(The atmosphere) was great,” said UW edge rusher Zach Durfee, who was one of 23 seniors celebrated. “Husky Stadium is always bumping, super electric. Especially a game like this. I thought the fan energy was amazing.”

Husky fans hoped their team would prove one thing: Money isn’t everything.

read more No. 6 oregon 26, Washington 14

“Oregon is basically the Paris Hilton of college football,” UW Class of 2005 graduate Andrew Sorba said before the game. “They’re famous for doing nothing, they wear the gaudiest clothing and they got a rich daddy.”

Phil Knight, the 87-year-old billionaire and co-founder of Nike, has donated around $1 billion to his alma mater and $300 million to the Oregon athletics department alone. Despite Knight’s funding in a NIL-driven college landscape, the bright yellow and green Ducks have yet to win a national title, unlike the Huskies who have two to their name (1960, 1991).

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“Team works better than money,” 43-year-old Sorba said, a trash-talk message UW failed to back up in its 26-14 defeat against the Ducks.

Oregon got the last laugh, with “Let’s go Ducks” chants ringing out across Husky Stadium after Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman picked off Demond Williams Jr. to seal the victory.

The Huskies are in the second year of a rebuild following head coach Kalen DeBoer’s departure to Alabama after the 2023 season. They improved on a 6-7 (4-5 in conference) performance in Jedd Fisch’s first year at the helm to 8-4 (5-4) now for this season.

While UW isn’t in playoff contention this season, the Huskies had added motivation to potentially knock Oregon out of its playoff position. Husky fans also said this game could potentially be one to build on for the future.

But it was a familiar story for UW fans, who have seen their Huskies lose to their rivals a lot over the past two decades. UW has gone 5-17 in its past 22 matchups with Oregon, including a 49-21 defeat last season in Eugene.

The Huskies still lead the overall series over the Ducks, with a 63-50-6 record.

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“If you beat a sixth-ranked team at home, you’re going to be the destination school for recruits in the Northwest,” Sorba said before the game, hopeful for a victory.

Karla MolieriFelt, an Everett resident and family friend of Sorba, agrees. She grew up in Ballard and graduated from UW in 1988. 

“Keeping some of our local boys here, keeping some of our existing boys coming back,” MolieriFelt, 60, said. “We can build off of that. That’s what makes teams better, retaining our players.”

MolieriFelt, who has been a season-ticket holder for 40 years, will continue to have confidence in the Huskies, and she’s not quiet about her love for the team. Her 1993 wedding was decked out in purple and gold. Her husband, Ross Felt, even dawned a “Husky” cummerbund with his black tuxedo.

Jason Sharp, 43, grew up in Aberdeen, cheering for the Huskies since childhood. He said he believes UW will continue its linear progression.

“We’re on the right track,” said Sharp, who now lives in Tumwater. “We’ve had a couple games where we hit some stumbling blocks, like the Wisconsin game, we should have won. The (Purdue and UCLA victories) were a build back, even with some of our starting offensive players being hurt.”

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Sharp’s sons, 11-year-old Nolan and 9-year-old Brody, have been UW fans since birth. Nolan even came home from the hospital in a Huskies onesie, born the day before the 2014 season started, just in time to watch Washington beat Hawai’i 17-16.

The brothers both play youth football and have big plans of playing in Husky Stadium one day. No amount of money from Oregon could ever win them over.

“If Oregon offered me $5 billion, I wouldn’t go,” Brody said.

Added Nolan, “I wouldn’t take $100 trillion.”

Sophia Vesely: svesely@seattletimes .com. Sophia Vesely is a general assignment sports reporter at the Seattle Times. She wrote for the Dallas Morning News and the Orlando Sentinel before joining the Seattle Times in 2025.