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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Big Game For ‘A Lot Of Reasons’ Washington’s Seniors Hope To Leave Husky Stadium Last Time As Winners

Don Borst Tacoma News Tribune

With all they have been through, with all they have won and lost and endured, the Washington Huskies seniors have one more significant task.

They have to beat the Cougars.

“The last game is what we’ll remember,” senior defensive end Deke Devers said. “The more I think about it, the more exciting it gets.”

These rivalries belong to seniors.

And while Washington State’s seniors are trying to salvage their season, Washington’s seniors still seem to be striving to salvage their careers.

A year of watching as redshirts. A year of supporting as freshmen. Two years of being restricted by probation.

And now their senior year is almost done.

A victory Saturday at Husky Stadium would complete their regular-season with a 7-3-1 record, Washington’s best in three years. It would enable them to charge into a bowl seeking an eight-win season and a Top 20 national ranking.

It would allow them to walk up the stadium tunnel after their last game the same way they ran through the tunnel when they arrived in 1991: as winners.

It would mean that they left their program emerging from the probationary period in good shape, putting it in good stead for the future.

And it would mean they beat Washington State three out of five times.

“This is a big game for a lot of reasons,” senior fullback Richard Thomas said. “When I don’t feel like running that extra lap or doing the 20 extra reps on the bench press, the thing that motivates me is the Cougars.”

If they don’t beat the Cougars, they will lose any chance at the Cotton Bowl, and their month leading to the Sun Bowl will lose its luster as they fall out of the Top 25 for the third year in a row.

If they don’t beat the Cougars, they will finish with Washington’s worst record (6-4-1) since 1988, and end their careers not tasting victory in their last four appearances in Husky Stadium.

And, if they don’t beat the Cougars, they will be the first Washington senior class in almost a decade to finish their five-year careers with a losing record in the Apple Cup.

That would be one cross they couldn’t bear to bear.

“I can’t even think about that,” Devers said. “I wouldn’t want to end my career that way, let alone lose to the Cougars again.”

The teams have split the last four games, which is the first time that has happened since 1983-86.

Not since the 1982 freshman class arrived on campus has a group of recruits progressed through its UW career without holding the upper hand in a five-year Apple Cup series.

Let’s see, that would be the recruiting class that included UW stalwarts like linebacker Joe Kelly, tight end Rod Jones and safety Tim Peoples.

They were beaten three out of five times by Cougars teams led by running backs Rueben Mayes and Kerry Porter, defensive lineman Erik Howard, wide receiver Kitrick Taylor and linebacker Jim Krakoski.

It’s a distinction that Devers, Thomas and the other UW seniors hope to avoid, instead hoping to add their class to the list of eight in a row that have enjoyed winning records in the Apple Cup.

There is no more defining game on the schedule of either team, and there is no more one-sided history for the Huskies. Their 55-26-6 all-time mark against WSU is better than their record against any other annual foe, including Oregon State (50-26-4).

Only two in the past 30 UW freshman classes have ended their careers with a losing record to Washington State (1981 and 1982, both 2-3).

The current fifth-year seniors arrived in time for the 1991 national championship run and were on the Husky Stadium sidelines during a 56-21 thrashing of Washington State that completed the perfect regular-season.

“I remember that was a big deal to the seniors,” Thomas said. “It takes a while to learn and understand it.”

As senior tight end Ernie Conwell said: “It grows in you every year.”

First, they went to Pullman as red-shirting freshmen, and froze. And lost, 42-23, when WSU quarterback Drew Bledsoe and fifth-year tailback Shaumbe Wright-Fair staged memorable final games in Martin Stadium.

“That was the only game I wish I wouldn’t have traveled,” Devers said. “I didn’t play and I was frozen from head to toe. I decided then that I’d always be prepared for them.”

They got their revenge in 1993 as sophomores, when they throttled the Cougars, 26-3, sending the seniors out right, as guys like Jamal Fountaine, Tom Gallagher, D’Marco Farr, Beno Bryant and Pete Pierson were able to strut proudly out of Husky Stadium for the last time.

Then last year, it was almost a rerun of the 1993 game. Fifth-year Cougars such as Chad Eaton, DeWayne Patterson, Singor Mobley and Torey Hunter high-stepped their way to the Alamo Bowl, winning 23-6, in icy, snowy conditions that truly seem to be Cougar weather.

“Somehow, it didn’t affect them,” Devers said, “which is a credit to their team.”

Saturday’s game belongs to Devers and the other UW seniors, just as it belongs to Washington State’s Chris Hayes, Eric Moore, Marc McCloskey, John Scukanec and Robert Booth.

Those are the only Cougars who were recruited in 1991 who have stuck it out for five seasons, and have a chance to become 3-2 in the Apple Cup.