Washington escapes defeat — and embarrassment — against Arizona State

The Huskies won, 15-7. That's about where the positives end.

Photo courtesy of UW Football.

SEATTLE — It would have been something if, as it appeared they really truly might, the Washington Huskies had followed perhaps their finest victory ever at Husky Stadium with what could have been their very worst loss.

Maybe somewhere on Saturday night, the 2021 Montana Grizzlies took turns pulling from a bottle of Andre.

As with the immeasurable high of UW’s landmark win against Oregon, there is no true barometer for the embarrassment the Huskies nearly allowed Arizona State to visit upon them Saturday night. They had never played the Ducks with both teams ranked in the top-10, and with so much national attention as both programs chase the College Football Playoff. That win, that atmosphere, that postgame scene — if it wasn’t Husky Stadium’s greatest ever, it at least provided a unique euphoria.

Conversely, UW has never lost at home as an unbeaten, top-five-ranked, four-touchdown favorite against an opponent alone in last place in the conference and on bowl probation under a first-year coaching staff¹. So it’s certainly never done that one week after dancing on its home field with thousands of fans as Prince played over the speakers.

It still hasn’t. And that’s the best thing you can say about what happened here Saturday night, as the Huskies escaped with a 15-7 victory that, for now, should stand as the least satisfying of coach Kalen DeBoer’s otherwise sterling tenure.