1985 Oregon State vs. Washington football game

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Second Biggest Overcome Point Spread in College Football History
Conference Game
Oregon State Beavers Washington Huskies
(2-4) (4-2)
21 20
Head coach: 
Dave Kragthorpe		 Head coach: 
Don James
1 2 3 4 Total
Oregon State 7 7 0 7 21
Washington 10 0 7 3 20
Date October 19, 1985
Stadium Husky Stadium
Location Seattle, Washington
National anthem University of Washington Husky Marching Band
Halftime show University of Washington Husky Marching Band

The 1985 Oregon State vs. Washington football game was a college football game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies that took place on October 19, 1985. The game featured the largest overcome point spread in college football history up to that time when the Huskies, after being favored by 38 points, lost the game 21-20 after the Beavers blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone with 1:29 left to play in the fourth quarter. It is considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history.[1][2][3] On October 6, 2007, Stanford achieved the highest point spread upset in college football history when the 40 point underdog Cardinal defeated the No. 2 ranked USC Trojans, 24-23. [4]

Contents

[edit] Background

Prior to the game, the Beavers were coming off four straight losses including back to back blankings against USC and Washington State, where they allowed a total of 97 points. No team in Oregon State history had allowed that many points over back-to-back games. Prior to that, the Beavers lost to Division I-AA team Grambling State by a score of 23-6 and to Fresno State 33-24.[5] To make matters worse for Oregon State, starting quarterback Erik Wilhelm was out for the season, and Pac-10 Conference (Pac-10) leading receiver Reggie Bynum was also out due to injury.[1] Additionally, the Beavers had lost the last 10 games played against Washington.[6]

The Huskies, on the other hand, were coming off a four-game win streak and were leading the Pac-10.[1] After the betting odds came in to Las Vegas set at -38 for Washington, the Seattle media had a field day insulting the Beavers. One reporter went so far as to say that "Oregon State plays football pretty much the way Barney Fife played a deputy sheriff on Mayberry".[1] In a television interview, Huskies head coach Don James said he expected to give his reserve quarterback Chris Chandler a chance for some playing time.

Oregon State head coach Dave Kragthorpe used the media comments in his pregame speech to the Beavers in an effort to motivate them to prove critics wrong before they went out on the field.[1]

[edit] The game

Washington put the first points up on the board after a field goal put the Huskies up 3-0 in the first quarter. Oregon State backup quarterback Rich Gonzales, who had only taken 9 snaps prior to the game, responded by stunning the Huskies with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Darvin Malone on the following drive, giving the Beavers the lead. Washington responded with a 80-yard drive and a touchdown of their own, regaining the lead 10-7.[1]

On the next drive, Washington forced Oregon State into a 4th and 20 position on their own 28 yard line. A Husky rush forced the punter to attempt to run for the first down instead of punting the ball, being stopped 10 yards short, turning the ball over on downs to the Huskies on the Beavers' 38 yard line. Washington drove to the 8 yard line, but then threw an interception in the end zone to give possession back to the Beavers. Oregon State then capped off an 80-yard drive with a 20-yard scramble for a touchdown by Gonzales, regaining the lead for the Beavers 14-10 going into halftime.[1]

Washington again regained the lead in the third quarter, going up 17-14. With 1:32 left in the quarter, Washington had first and goal at the one yard line, twice trying to run the ball up the middle and failing to get the score, bringing up third down. On the following play, OSU linebacker Osia Lewis knocked out Washington running back Vance Weathersby with his tackle, causing a fumble that Oregon State recovered.[1]

With 7:59 remaining in the fourth quarter, Washington increased their lead to 6 points by making another field goal, putting the score at 14-20.

At 1:29 remaining in the game, Washington was forced to punt from right outside their own end zone. Oregon State's Andre Todd rushed the punter and managed to block the punt, sending the ball flying into Washington's end zone, nearly causing a safety. However, the bounce went Oregon State's way and ended up staying in the end zone, allowing the Beavers to recover it resulting in the touchdown. The extra point was good, giving the Beavers a 21-20 lead, which would prove to be enough for the win, resulting in the biggest overcome point spread in college football history.[1]

[edit] Aftermath

Oregon State players celebrated, shouting "You can blame this one on your media" as they returned to the locker room.[1] The Seattle media ended up not showing up to ask questions for coach Kragthorpe after the game.[1]

Washington finished the Pac-10 season at 5-3. Eventual conference champion UCLA, whom Washington had previously defeated, went to the 1986 Rose Bowl with a conference record of 6-2. Washington would have won the tie-breaker and represented the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl. Oregon State did not win any more games for the rest of the season and finished in 9th place in the Pac-10.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Edmonston. Jr., George. Eating Crow. OSU Alumni Association. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
  2. ^ Putting Appalachian State's win in perspective. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  3. ^ Biggest upset ever? Take a look at the rest. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  4. ^ Las Vegas Odds Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  5. ^ 2006 Football Media Guide - Year-By-Year Results (PDF0) (English). Oregon State University. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
  6. ^ 2006 Football Media Guide - Series History (PDF) (English). Oregon State University. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.

[edit] See also