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

Huskies hope to rise up at Rose


UW managed a 29-19 win over UCLA last season in Seattle with the help of an interception return for a TD by  Dan Howell.Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
John Boyle Everett Herald

PASADENA, Calif. – The Washington Huskies will walk onto the field at the Rose Bowl this evening, preparing to play on something of a field of dreams for Pac-10 football players.

In recent years, however, the Rose Bowl has been more of a house of horrors for Washington. In November 1995, the 22nd-ranked Huskies came to Pasadena and beat UCLA 38-14. Since then, the Huskies are 0 for 5 in the Rose Bowl against UCLA (they did get a win over Purdue in the 2001 Rose Bowl).

Even so, the Huskies are still looking forward to playing at the Rose Bowl.

“Oh, man, it’s exciting,” said defensive tackle Jordan Reffett. “Going down to the Rose Bowl, it’s like sacred ground there. It’s exciting.”

Whatever the reason for Washington’s struggles may be, it doesn’t sound like a hostile environment is the culprit.

“I love playing there,” said senior receiver Anthony Russo. “When I played there two years ago I loved it. I felt like I was at home, honestly. It was a good place to play. I didn’t feel it was too tough there to play. I felt right at home over there.”

Many of the losses since 1995 have been painful for one reason or another. In 1999, the Huskies were ranked 22nd and playing a 3-6 Bruins squad, but fell 23-20 in overtime. Two years later, the Huskies headed south on a 12-game winning streak, but lost by 22 points.

The 2003 loss marked the most recent time Washington has been ranked. The Huskies came into the game 3-1 with a No. 18 ranking, and led early before being blown out 46-16.

The Huskies had another chance to exorcise their Rose Bowl demons in 2005 when they had a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bruins again came back for a win.

Asked about that loss earlier in the week, the first thing that came to Tyrone Willingham’s mind was a holding call that negated a long Louis Rankin touchdown run that would have extended the fourth-quarter lead.

“That game I remember there was a particular holding call that could have been disputed, at least from my chair,” he said. “That could have made a huge difference in the ball game.”

The Huskies returned the favor at home last year, coming back from a halftime deficit to steal a win. Comebacks have become a recent trend in the series, meaning neither team will take an early lead for granted.

“It just shows you’ve got to keep fighting,” said Rankin. “Whenever these two teams play it’s a close game. You never know what’s going to happen, so the best thing you can do is keep fighting all the way through the game.”