There’s 289 miles between Oregon and Washington, and for some reason, that distance has never felt closer than right now.

There’s approximately 12.2 million people between the two states, and the one thing that most Oregon and Washington residents can agree on is the hatred for the other state’s football program. 

While the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies have faced off 117 times in their shared history, the rivalry has never been as hot as it’s been in the last four or so seasons. 

New hires; Washington controls the rivalry 

In fall 2022, less than a month apart, both programs hired new head coaches. In November, the Huskies appointed Kalen DeBoer as their head man, and in December, the Ducks announced the hiring of Dan Lanning. 

For each program, this proved to be a watershed moment, albeit at different times. For the Huskies, the success was immediate, especially as it regarded Oregon. Washington eked out a 37-34 win in Autzen Stadium, which propelled it to an 11-2 record and a bowl win, while Oregon finished 10-3. The next season, DeBoer led the Huskies to two more wins against Lanning’s Ducks and cruised to a 14-1 record, a playoff win and a National Championship Game appearance. 

For Oregon, it turned into two seasons in a row where Washington stood in the way of its playoff aspirations and prevented Lanning from taking a major step up as a young head coach. 

However, the momentum would start flipping the Ducks’ way, even as soon as that next offseason. DeBoer departed for the University of Alabama, giving way for former Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch to take the reins. Each program’s success came at a perfect time, as conference realignment grouped the two teams together and sent them to the Big Ten, keeping the rivalry perfectly intact. 

Move to the Big Ten; Bypassing in-state foes

With conference realignment, it became important to those in charge to keep traditional rivalries intact, but for Oregon and Washington, that became difficult. The two programs saw enough success both on-field and commercially, which meant they became great candidates for the revamped Big Ten conference. 

There were only four spots though, which meant the Big Ten had to be selective on which schools, teams and brands it welcomed into the conference. USC and UCLA became the final two schools accepted into the Big Ten, which left both Oregon and Washington’s in-state rivals, Oregon State and Washington State, without a conference. 

That remains the case today, depending on how one views the current state of the Pac-12 conference. While there existed a metaphorical barrier for a great deal of time, for the first time, the Beavers and Cougars faced a physical barrier between themselves and their rivals. 

For Oregon and Washington, the removal of each’s traditional “little brother” created a much larger focus on each other, and that intensity is most often exemplified on the football field. 

While 2024 saw a national No. 1 Oregon squad dominate a Washington side ailing from growing pains under a first-year head coach, the 2025 iteration at Husky Stadium in Seattle should live up to the recent installments of the rivalry. 

On Saturday, the Huskies hope to play spoiler to what the Ducks hope will become a playoff season, and get another leg up on their rivals.