UW Football
Oregon State relishes rare victory in Seattle

By Bob Sherwin
Seattle Times staff reporter

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

The last time Oregon State won at Husky Stadium, most of the current players hadn't been born.

It was 1985 when the Beavers slapped the Huskies with a 21-20 upset victory despite being 38-point underdogs. Yesterday the Beavers beat them again, 29-14, although the two circumstances couldn't be more different.

Nineteen years ago the Beavers were horrible, in the middle of a 28-year stretch of losing seasons. They would not have a winning season until 1999. The Huskies were coming off an 11-1 season in 1984 in which they finished No. 2 in the nation after an upset of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

The programs have now crisscrossed. The Beavers came here 6-1/2-point favorites and played like it. There was no undue exuberance, unlike their wild celebration on the field in 1985. Afterward, they happily trotted up the tunnel, reacting as if they expected it.

"Times have changed," said fourth-year Beavers coach Mike Riley. "It goes back and forth. But it's just good nowadays to come in here and compete and be favored in a game. That does say a lot.

"The Huskies have always had a good program, a proud program. That's where things are changing all around the whole Pac-10."

The Beavers had lost seven straight in Seattle since their 1985 upset. Overall, it was just OSU's third victory over Washington in the last 29 meetings.

"I wasn't aware of that. I know I haven't won here in my five years," said Beavers tailback Dwight Wright, who scored the go-ahead third-quarter touchdown with a 55-yard romp, making it 16-14. "I don't have the opportunity to have cable TV, so I don't know what's going on."

Junior wide receiver Mike Hass, who added to his Pac-10 lead with eight catches for 98 yards, added, "Historically, we haven't been very good on the road, even worse here. We kind of caught them on a down year, but it doesn't matter to us."
 
In fact, Hass relished it. He continually made critical third-down catches in front of UW cornerback Derrick Johnson, considered the Huskies' best cover guy. Johnson had said before the game that he was looking forward to the matchup, saying, "It's going to be fun."

"I didn't see that but I'm sure he did. I caught some balls on him," Hass said. "He told me it was his worst day ever. I love to make it the DB's worst day ever."

Beavers freshman kicker Alexis Serna, who was kicking in his mother's womb in 1985, said he was aware of the losing streak.

"I read it in the newspaper," he said. "You try not to look at that stuff. It's just great to get a win up here."

Serna was critical to the victory. He had a 55-yard field goal just as the half ended to give the Beavers a 9-7 lead. It was the second longest in school history. He finished with a school-record five field goals — 23, 36, 55, 31 and 27 yards.

"Big play," Riley said of Serna's 55-yarder. "To go back to the lead at the half after really making a lot of plays and just coming away with field goals, it gave them the chance to stay ahead."

Just five weeks ago in the season opener against defending national champion LSU, Serna missed three extra-point attempts.

"He became such a national story. I'm happy for him," Riley said. "Each one gave us more of a lead. They were clutch kicks, good kicks."

Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson is no authority on the OSU-UW rivalry but he remembers the last two. Two years ago he was intercepted five times against the Huskies, with two run back for touchdowns. Last year, three of his passes were picked off. But yesterday, Anderson converted 26 of 40 attempts for 286 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.

"We struggled against them the last two years," Anderson said. "It's nice to get back on top."

Riley's losing résumé at Husky Stadium goes much further back — as offensive coordinator for USC in the early 1990s, in his first stint as Oregon State coach, as the Chargers' coach against the Seahawks and at OSU again.

"I don't think I've ever been on a winning team in this stadium," he said. "At USC, we tied one year (21-21 in 1995) and that ended up getting us in the Rose Bowl."

Times have changed.

Bob Sherwin: 206-464-8286 or bsherwin@seattletimes.com

Huskies vs. Beavers
Yesterday marked Oregon State's first win in Seattle since 1985 and second overall against UW in that span:
Year	Winner	Score	Site
2004	OSU	29-14	Seattle
2003	UW	38-17	Corvallis
2002	UW	41-29	Seattle
2001	OSU	49-24	Corvallis
2000	UW	33-30	Seattle
1999	UW	47-21	Corvallis
1998	UW	35-34	Seattle
1997	UW	45-17	Corvallis
1996	UW	42-3	Seattle
1995	UW	26-16	Corvallis
1994	UW	24-10	Seattle
1993	UW	28-21	Corvallis
1992	UW	45-16	Seattle
1991	UW	58-6	Corvallis
1989	UW	51-14	Corvallis
1987	UW	28-12	Seattle
1986	UW	28-12	Corvallis