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UW has shot at another upset

Tailback Lydell Ross and the rest of the Buckeyes easily beat UW on Aug. 30, 2003.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Tailback Lydell Ross and the rest of the Buckeyes easily beat UW on Aug. 30, 2003.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE – The matchup was supposed to be a showcase – the defending national champions of Ohio State against talent-laden Washington – with a national television audience watching.

Instead, that August night in 2003 in Columbus, Ohio, when the Buckeyes easily handled the Huskies 28-9, became the first step in the downfall of Washington’s program.

“Oh, man. Oh, they were coming off a national championship and they were really good. And we were in turmoil,” said Washington’s coach then, Keith Gilbertson, now an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks.

Almost serving as a bookend to that game in 2003, the Huskies and Buckeyes meet for the first time since on Saturday, with Washington showing signs of resurgence under coach Tyrone Willingham.

The Huskies are 2-0 for the first time since 2001, including last week’s 24-10 upset of Boise State, snapping the Broncos’ 14-game win streak, the longest in the nation.

“I think you’re going to see by the end of the year that Washington is going to be a very highly rated football team,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

While the No. 10 Buckeyes (2-0) have remained among the nation’s elite, last year playing for the national title and producing Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, Saturday’s game marks a significant opportunity for Washington to return to the national stage.

The UW program started crumbling in 2003, beginning with the game against the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s defense kept Washington’s potent offense out of the end zone until the final four minutes when quarterback Cody Pickett scored on a short run. The Huskies ran for only 7 yards.

Between that loss and this Saturday’s game, the Huskies have gone 16-31. Ohio State is 42-9 over the same period. A win over the Buckeyes would surely get Washington back into the national rankings for the first time since that trying 2003 season.

“This is their saving game,” Ohio State center Jim Cordle said. “I can remember Coach Willingham at Notre Dame, he recruited me. He was a good coach. I thought, ‘This is a coach I could play for.’ He’s got that program back on track, he’s got them back where they need to be.

“This is a game that they can all of a sudden be on a pedestal nationally. They can show who they are.”