The Oregon–Washington football rivalry, also known informally as the Cascade Clash, is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

and

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. The respective campuses in Eugene and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

are apart, via

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

. It is one of the top 25 most played rivalries in NCAA Division I FBS history, and has been played regularly

Series history

Early years

The series opened in 1900, with Oregon dominating Washington 43–0 in Eugene.

Northwest Conference

In 1909 the teams met in Seattle on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

for the final game of the season, with both teams undefeated in

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 t ...

league play. The game decided the Northwest intercollegiate championship and ownership of the Tiffany & Co. silver

loving cup A loving cup is a large cup with two arching handles. It can describe a shared drinking container traditionally used at Christian lovefeasts, as well as at weddings and banquets, often made of silver. Loving cups are also given as trophy, trop ...

awarded by John Barrett. Washington won the Northwest championship 20–6 due largely to their use of the still-new

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes grid ...

while

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

played an older style of football. In 1911 Dobie successfully ran his "Bunk Play", a

hidden ball trick A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...

in which Washington quarterback "Wee" Coyle removed his leather headgear and held it to his chest to simulate the football.

Pacific Coast Conference

The rivalry became heated from Oregon's perspective in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, when Oregon and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

both went undefeated in the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

. California was undefeated overall, and Oregon's only loss was at undefeated

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, that year's national champions. The Ducks had seven victories in the PCC to Cal's six. The winner of the PCC, as was the case for most of the Pac-12's history, played in the Rose Bowl. Oregon, led by quarterback

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American professional football player, coach and executive. He played as a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. ...

and halfback John McKay, opted for a playoff game, but California declined. The tiebreaker format the PCC elected to use was that the championship team be elected by the schools. The PCC had ten member schools in

, six in the Northwest (with

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

) and four in California, so it was assumed that Oregon would be the team playing in the Rose Bowl, as even a vote would be in their favor. Instead California was voted champion of the PCC, because Washington had persuaded Montana to vote for California, something that has not been forgotten by Oregon fans. (The PCC allowed a second bowl team that season and Oregon went to the Cotton Bowl, but lost 21–13 to hometown SMU in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. California lost to twice-beaten Northwestern by six points in the Rose Bowl.)

1950s and 1960s

All-Pacific Coast Conference fullback Hugh McElhenny and the Huskies ran up the score on Oregon, 63-6 in 1951 in what was at the time the most lopsided score of the series. In

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, Larry Hill of Oregon was tackled by Washington fans who had rushed onto the field at

Husky Stadium Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Wa ...

while he was trying to catch the tie-breaking touchdown on the game's final play.

1970s and 1980s

In 1973, the Ducks exceeded the 57 point loss margin that the Huskies had inflicted on them in 1951 with a 58-0 shutout in Eugene. The following season, the Huskies returned the favor, shutting out the Ducks 66-0 in Seattle. From 1974 through 1986, the Huskies won 12 of 13 games against the Ducks.

1990s and later

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Washington head coach Jim Lambright unsuccessfully lobbied for the Huskies to be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl instead of the Ducks. ''Seattle Post Intelligencer'' columnist Bud Withers wrote that Lambright's actions "invited at least another half-century worth of bile from Oregon fans." After winning four of six over Lambright in the 1990s, the rivalry was given another boost in Oregon eyes when

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

head coach Rick Neuheisel moved to Washington in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. At the between #12

and #7

, Neuheisel called for a fake punt while the Buffaloes led with less than five minutes left. Oregon coach Mike Bellotti was also accused of turning Neuheisel in for recruiting during the dead period. The Ducks were 1–2 against the Huskies under Neuheisel, and the rivalry grew even more when Neuheisel celebrated by taking photos and jumping up and down on the "O" in the middle of the field after a win at

Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Big Ten Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone severa ...

Two years earlier, the Ducks' victory in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

in Eugene spoiled an otherwise undefeated season for the Huskies, who won the Rose Bowl and finished third in Due to Pac-10 scheduling, the teams did not meet in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, the first break in the rivalry since the hiatus in 1943 and 1944 due to From 2004 through 2015, the Ducks won 12 straight games against the Huskies, the longest streak of the series for either team. Through

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Washington leads . The Huskies went from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

(mostly under Don James, but Oregon then went from

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

through

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. The Ducks won 12 straight from

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

to 2015, the longest run by either team in the series; the closest margin was six points in 2015. in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

when the fifth-ranked Huskies won in Eugene, a game that set series scoring records for one team (70 points) and Washington followed it up with a home win Oregon ended their 2-game losing streak in the series in 2018 with a 30–27 overtime win over Washington in Eugene, the first overtime game in the rivalry's history. In the 2019 rendition in Seattle, the Ducks came back from a 14-point deficit in the 2nd half to prevail 35–31 over the Huskies. It was the 2nd consecutive meeting in which both teams were ranked, and 7th all-time. The 2020 game was canceled due to increasing

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

cases in the Washington football program.

Notable events after 1990

="The Pick"

= Arguably the most iconic moment in the history of the rivalry for Ducks fans happened in 1994, when Oregon freshman cornerback Kenny Wheaton intercepted Washington quarterback Damon Huard and returned the ball 97 yards for a touchdown with under a minute to play to seal a 31–20 upset win that snapped a five-game losing streak in the series for the Ducks and set them on course for what would become their first conference championship (and trip to the Rose Bowl) since 1957. This play, coined "The Pick", is widely credited as the turning point for the Oregon football program on their way to becoming nationally relevant in the decades that followed. It also swung momentum in the rivalry that was until then mostly dominated by the Huskies 54-28-5, with Oregon notching a 17–4 record against Washington from The Pick until the end of The Streak. Just before kickoff of every Ducks home game, a replay of "The Pick" is shown on the

video board, always accompanied by a loud and gleeful reaction.

="The Streak"

= Oregon beat Washington in 12 straight games from 2004–2015, the largest winning streak in the rivalry. This streak correlated with Oregon's most successful era of football and Washington's least. The Ducks went 120–36 () over these 12 seasons, with two national championship game appearances, four conference titles, two Rose Bowl victories, and a Heisman Trophy winner. Meanwhile, the Huskies went 62–88 () including a winless 0–12 in 2008.

="The Point" and 70 point victory

The Huskies finally snapped their losing streak in 2016 with a dominating 70–21 win over the Ducks in Eugene. This was the first time an opponent had scored 70 points in

's history, and the first time an Oregon team had allowed 70 points or more in a game since a 71-7 loss to the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

in 1941. The 2016 Huskies would go on to finish the regular season 12–1, win the Pac-12 Championship, and face

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the CFP semifinal

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

. Their win vs. Oregon was seen as a major realignment in the power ranking of the Pac-12 North. In contrast to the Huskies, Oregon would go on to finish the season 4-8, resulting in head coach Mark Helfrich being fired at the end of the season. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Ducks quarterback

Justin Herbert Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks football, Orego ...

, making his first college start, was intercepted by Huskies cornerback Budda Baker. Four plays later, QB Jake Browning scored the first of the Huskies' ten touchdowns on a 1-yard run. As he crossed the goal line Browning pointed his left index finger at trailing linebacker Jimmie Swain, who was clad in a throwback blue and yellow Oregon Webfoots jersey. This gesture became known as The Point after sideline photographs of the play went viral across social media during and after the game. 2023 Games

= First ever Top 10 matchup

= The 2023 matchup between eighth ranked Oregon and seventh ranked Washington was the first ever where both teams were ranked within the top ten in the AP Poll. In front of a sold out

, Washington defeated Oregon 36—33 in what was immediately considered one of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry. Despite having stopped two red—zone fourth down conversion attempts by Oregon, Washington trailed with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. After Oregon failed to convert another fourth down to end the game, Washington's quarterback

Michael Penix Jr. Michael Tarrence Penix Jr. ( ; born May 8, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). After three seasons of college football with the Indiana Hoosiers ...

connected with receiver Rome Odunze for a game winning touchdown after a drive spanning just two plays. With four seconds on the clock and one timeout remaining, Oregon kicker Camden Lewis missed a 43 yard field goal attempt, giving the Huskies the win.

= Final Pac-12 Championship

= The 2023 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, the last before the collapse of the traditional

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

as a result of the 2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment, was between 11–1 Oregon (ranked fifth) and 12–0 Washington (ranked third). Oregon's sole loss had been the earlier road defeat to Washington, and they had looked dominant in the second half of the season (Washington meanwhile had several close calls in games), entering the game as the betting favorite. As a result, adding even more suspense to the final Pac-12 championship between two rivals, it was widely predicted before the game that the winner would go to the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

s. Washington's offense caught the Ducks by surprise early in the game, jumping out to a 20–3 lead, before the Ducks, led by quarterback

Bo Nix Bo Chapman Nix (born February25, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football for the Auburn Tigers ...

, responded with 21 straight points. After a series of turnovers, the momentum swung back in the Huskies' favor. Washington scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and won the game, 34–31, after a key first down by running back Dillon Johnson allowed them to run out the clock.

received the Pac-12 Championship MVP.

Game results

* Oregon's home games against Washington were played in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

from 1911–1913 and 1926–1965.

Results by location

''As of November 30, 2024''

Coaching records

* ''Since 1945''

Oregon

Washington

: * Last tie was in

, overtime began in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

in Division I-A (once,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

) * Two games were played in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

* Not scheduled in

, canceled (

) in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon-Washington football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Oregon Ducks football Washington Huskies football 1900 establishments in Oregon 1900 establishments in Washington (state)