SEATTLE — It was supposed to be Washington’s gallant closing ceremony for 92-year-old Husky Stadium. Instead, Oregon stole the show Saturday night.
Just as the Ducks have in each of their seven previous matchups with the Huskies, Oregon won by a three-score margin, extending the longest winning streak in the history of the teams’ rivalry.
“They’re tearing this (place) down with a loss,” Oregon defensive end Terrell Turner@@CE@@ said in the tunnel as the game was ending. “They’re tearing this (place) down with a loss.” @@note: he said “motherfucker,” but I really don’t feel like putting that in there because he probably didn’t realize there were media in that tunnel. not worth pissing off the athletic department.@@ @@<�—- hahahah kenny@@
Husky Stadium has been known as a loud venue for decades, and its final game was no exception. The stadium was shaking on more than one occasion, giving the Huskies a home-field advantage often enjoyed by the Ducks. However, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly@@CE@@ said his team did well in adjusting to the raucous environment.
“I thought they did a good job. We knew what it was going to be like, but we play in a really loud environment ourselves,” Kelly said. “We kind of felt that playing in the first game, the neutral-site game down in Dallas in front of the LSU fans, I think put us in a position where our guys were kind of used to that.”
For Oregon left guard Carson York,@@CE@@ the game had a more special meaning. York, a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, native, grew up rooting for Washington State, the Huskies’ Apple Cup rivals.
“I was a Cougar fan growing up, so I was sort of born with a natural hate of the Huskies,” York said. “I was lucky enough to carry that on when I got here. It’s fun to win here and it’s fun to win the last game in Husky Stadium.”
For Turner, the rivalry win was a big deal, but his emotions were more subdued when he faced the press later.
“It was cool that we came out and played the game we wanted to play,” Turner said. “That’s just how we Duckies do.”
The emotions of the rivalry were not just a positive for the Ducks, however. Oregon racked up nine penalties for 78 yards@@http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/432730.htm?ATCLID=205328774&SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@, including a personal foul by wide receiver Ben Butterfield@@CE@@ and a roughing the passer penalty assessed to the defense.
“That’s unacceptable, and we talked to those guys about that,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to learn to play with emotion and not let emotion play with you, and in big games, that can come back to bite you.”
Despite the Ducks’ victory, they still trail the Huskies 58-41-5 all-time@@changed from 57: http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205326166, http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot/news/newstest.aspx?id=4448423@@, and Oregon’s current eight-game winning streak@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205326166@@ is dwarfed by a stretch from 1974-93 in which Washington won 17 of 20 games between the teams@@http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2008138116_uwfb26.html@@.
“I feel like we did it for all the Ducks who came before us, guys from all the decades before us who went out and battled the Huskies,” York said. “To come out and win the last game in Husky Stadium, it feels probably like a bigger deal than it really is.”