The 1991 Washington Huskies football team represented the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Don James, in his 17th season at Washington, was assisted by coordinators

Keith Gilbertson Keith Steven Gilbertson Jr. (born May 15, 1948) is a retired American football coach and player. He was the head coach at the University of Idaho (1986–1988), the University of California, Berkeley (1992–1995), and the University of Washingto ...

( offense) and

Jim Lambright James Ralph Lambright (April 26, 1942 – March 29, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Washington for six seasons, from 1993 to 1998, compiling a record of Prior to becoming head co ...

( defense), both head coaches themselves within two years. The 1991 team was arguably the finest team in school history and split the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

with the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

, who were also 12–0, and won the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

by four votes, while Washington took the coaches' poll by nine. Washington could not have played Miami in a bowl game because the Pac-10 champion was bound by contract to play in the Rose Bowl against the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

champion. The Huskies soundly defeated fourth-ranked

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

34–14 in the Rose Bowl; the final score differential was narrowed by a late touchdown by

Tyrone Wheatley Tyrone Anthony Wheatley Sr. (born January 19, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, he served as the running backs coach of the Denver Broncos of ...

of Michigan. With a minute remaining in the game, Washington was on the Michigan five-yard line, but opted to stay on the ground and run out the clock with third-string quarterback

Damon Huard Damon Paul Huard (born July 9, 1973) is a former American football quarterback. He is the director of community relations and fundraising for the University of Washington football program, his alma mater. Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Ben ...

leading the offense. Eleven Huskies were selected in the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott ...

, led by

Steve Emtman Steven Charles Emtman (born April 16, 1970) is a former professional American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Washington and was selected first overall by ...

, a dominating yet under-recruited defensive tackle from Cheney. Emtman won both the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

and the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, won by

Desmond Howard Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Howard w ...

. Defensive back Dana Hall was also selected in the first round. A fantasy article in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' titled "The Dream Game" had the Huskies narrowly defeat Miami in a playoff.

Overview

The Huskies were ranked fourth in the 1991 pre-season. They dominated their six home games within the friendly raucous confines of Husky Stadium, which included two lopsided shutouts. The Dawgs' three closest games in 1991 were on the road: against

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and USC. Behind 14–6 at halftime in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

to no. 9

in the second game of the season, UW rallied to outscore NU in Lincoln 30–7 in the second half to win by 15, and were graciously applauded at game-end by the Cornhusker fans. In mid-October, the no. 7

Cal Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

were the next-best team in the Pac-10 in 1991; the Huskies won by a touchdown in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

to go to 6–0. In November in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, the Huskies entered the game against USC undefeated at 8–0 and won a 14–3 defensive struggle, a second-straight victory over the previously-dominant Trojans. Like the rest of the Pac-10 in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, the Huskies played just eight Pac-10 conference games, missing one opponent; they did not play

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1991 or 1992. The 1991 Bruins finished at 9–3 (6–2 in conference), in the top twenty in both polls (no. 18 and no. 19). UCLA lost to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

of the SEC and both Bay Area teams, Cal and Stanford, but won their

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

Schedule

Source:

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

at Stanford

Washington's forced five turnovers and scored four touchdowns on the ground in a 42-7 season opening victory at Stanford. Cornerback Walter Bailey had an interception and a fumble recovery, while running back Jay Barry ran for two scores.

Billy Joe Hobert Billy Joe Hobert (born January 8, 1971) is a former professional American football quarterback. He played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with four teams, primarily as a reserve. College career While at the University of Wash ...

, making his first career start, completed 21 of 31 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Source:

at Nebraska

Source:

Kansas State

Arizona

Toledo

at California

Oregon

Arizona State

at USC

at Oregon State

Washington State

vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

Awards and honors

National

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

: Mario Bailey,

Dave Hoffmann Dave Hoffmann (born July 24, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Washington Huskies, earning All-American honors in 1992. He was ...

Lincoln Kennedy Tamerlane Lincoln Kennedy (born Tamerlane Fizel Kennedy Jr.; February 12, 1971) is a former football offensive tackle. He played college football at Washington, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. A first-round selection in the 199 ...

(Consensus in Bold) *

*Steve Emtman:

* Don James: FWAA Coach of the Year

Conference

* All-Pacific-10: Mario Bailey, Lincoln Kennedy,

Ed Cunningham Ed Cunningham (born August 17, 1969) is an American sports announcer, film producer, and former professional American football player. Following his career in the National Football League, Cunningham worked as an commentator for different medi ...

, Steve Emtman, Dave Hoffmann, Chico Fraley, Donald Jones, Dana Hall * Pacific-10 Offensive Player of the Year: Mario Bailey * Pacific-10 Defensive Player of the Year: Steve Emtman * Pacific-10 Coach of the Year: Don James

NFL Draft selections

Eleven University of Washington Huskies were selected in the

, which lasted twelve rounds with 336 selections. *Both 1991 UW quarterbacks were selected in the following year's

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

: '91 soph. starter

by the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

(3rd rd., 58th) and junior

Mark Brunell Mark Allen Brunell (born September 17, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for nineteen seasons and is best k ...

('90 soph. starter, injured in spring '91 practice, '92 senior starter) by the Green Bay Packers (5th rd., 118th); where he was a reserve for two seasons behind

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

, then led the expansion

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

References

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Washington Huskies football seasons College football national champions Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Washington Huskies football The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Husky Stadium, located on camp ...