Commentary

By Brooks Hatch
Mid-Valley Sports

SEATTLE n Maybe they're not the Washington of yore, the all-powerful juggernaught that dominated Northwest football for two decades and made all who dared step in their path tremble with fear.

The Huskies were 1-4 entering Saturday's matinee with Oregon State, and clearly headed for their first losing season since 1976. The Beavers were 6-point favorites, and were expected to prevail, so their 29-14 triumph was ho-hum and ordinary, right?

Wrong. So, so wrong.

It's significant any time you beat the program that's long been the benchmark for Northwest excellence. It's especially meaningful when you do it in their house, which the Huskies protect with every ounce of their energy from opening kickoff to final horn.

"It's huge, huge, enormous," said OSU cornerbacks coach Nigel Burton, a former Husky captain who helped prolong that legacy of home-field domination from 1996-98. "They always come to play when they're at home.

"They will never quit. They will always fight. They're always going to be physical, and that's what you saw today. But when it came down to it, our guys just fought that much harder to pull out the ‘W.' "

It's impossible to ignore the tradition the Huskies have built over the past century. Their fans, coaches and players expect success, and they're reminded of it each time they walk past the plaques commemorating their 14 Rose Bowls and 16 other postseason appearances line the walls of the tunnel that both teams must walk down to reach the field.

"It means something," Burton said of the tradition, which often borders on arrogance. "When I played here, and even being a former player, when I saw those (posters for) the three bowl games I played in, it still meant something to me.

"You get hit with a lot when you're a visiting team coming in here, besides the noise and the (Huskies). When you play here, one of the first lessons you learn here is to defend your home turf.

"Nobody won in Husky Stadium; it was the most intimidating place on the West Coast. For a visiting team to come in here and win, from (Washington's) perspective, should never happen."

But it did on Saturday, and it was well-earned. OSU had four goal-line stands and made enough big plays to answer each Husky challenge. It didn't crumble when fourth-down conversions and a "same old Beavers" turnover kept giving the Dawgs new life late in the fourth quarter.

Clearly OSU had used its bye wisely, to recharge, refocus and pull itself up off the canvas following the Cal debacle to prepare for the six-game stretch drive.

Few could appreciate what transpired as well as junior middle linebacker Trent Bray, a native Washingtonian, the son of a former Washington State assistant and someone well-steeped in Husky lore.

"There haven't been too many times I've gone on this trip and come back happy," he said, either as ex-WSU/OSU assistant coach Craig Bray's kid or as a player with the Beavers.

"This is great. The bye helped us a lot; we came back in the state of mind that it's a whole new season," he added. "We have six more games (before Saturday); we've got to win at least five and we want to win all of them."

You have to start with one to reach five. Preparation for WSU begins today, but for the moment Saturday was an afternoon to savor for players and boosters who'd had little to celebrate in the rivalry since it took a decided turn in Washington's favor in the early 1970s.

Some sights and sounds these Beavers will long remember:

• On his way off the field, Bill Swancutt made a solo dash over to the Beaver cheering section in the west end zone and gave those hanging over the concrete barrier a series of low- and high-fives.

• As he headed for the tunnel, linebackers coach Charlie Camp grabbed one of his charges and pointed to the No. "7" illuminated in the takeaways category on the auxiliary scoreboard that totals sacks, turnovers, tackles for loss and three-and-outs.

"Look at how many takeaways we had," he exclaimed to all within earshot.

• Other Beavers eventually made their way over to the citizens of the satellite Beaver Nation in the end zone and joined them in the "OSU" chant.

• Later, as twilight descended, clumps of players, coaches, their families and other well-wishers gathered in the plaza that separates venerable Hec Edmonson Pavilion from the stadium, now empty except for the scores of seagulls scavenging the grandstands to snack on popcorn, discarded hot dog buns and other debris.

Scattered small ovations erupted as various Beavers emerged from a stairwell to meet with their loved ones before boarding the team busses, bound for Boeing Field and the short, happy plane ride back to Eugene.

OSU coach Mike Riley had never won in five previous trips to Husky Stadium. He was 0-1-1 as the offensive coordinator at USC, 0-1 with the Beavers and 0-2 with the San Diego Chargers. A two-point conversion doomed him in 1998, after Tim Alexander had scored on the final play to draw within 35-34 in the "Jonathan Smith throws for 469 yards" game, widely accepted as the program's turning point from three decades of ineptitude.

Two last-second field goals sunk him in his stint with the Chargers, who played the Seahawks here while Quest Stadium was under construction.

So Riley was cognizant of the aura, the mystique, the purple power that permeates every corner of the concrete-and-steel horseshoe on the banks of Lake Washington.

"You know all about the Huskies," he said. "It's one of those deals where there have not been very many Beaver wins in this stadium.

"So every time you have a chance to do that, like today, it's big."

His post game remarks concluded, Riley secured his black OSU hat with his left hand, gathered his copy of the stats, and weaved his way through the cluster of reporters, mini-cams and happy OSU administrators assembled in the media room opposite the Beavers' locker room.

"Let's go home," he said simply.

Hip, hip hooray to that.

Brooks Hatch's columns appear on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. He can be reached at brooks.hatch@lee.net