When we moved from Yakima, Washington to Wasco, California in January of 1990, one of the first things I noticed was that I was no longer in Husky land. Most every one here were either USC or UCLA fans. In fact, I had some new "friends" that were "in-your-face" USC fans. Their arrogance really irritated me. I couldn't wait until football season so that the Dawgs could (hopefully) shut them up!
The University of Washington football program had been revived by Don James in the late 70s and for most of the 80's they had been a dominant Pac-8 team. However, in the latter part of the 80s they faltered and the program seemed to be floundering a bit. So going into the decade of the 90s there were doubts about the direction the program was headed. Late in the 80s Coach James had revamped his staff, his defensive philosophy and particularly his recruiting strategy (with a greater focus on athleticism and speed). There were hints that these changes were going to pay-off, especially in the last half of the 89 season when the Dawgs closed with several blow-outs, including a 34-7 drubbing of the University of Florida Gators in the 1989 Freedom Bowl. A Florida team that featured future Hall of Fame running back Emmit Smith. Still, no one really knew how dominant this team would become. That is, until USC traveled to Husky stadium.
It was September 22, 1990 and the conference opener for both teams. USC came in ranked #5 in the country but that would soon change as the Dawgs took apart the Trojans in the game. A game that would be known as the All I saw was purple game, when "Robo" quarterback Todd Marinovich uttered the words that ultimately defined the era of Husky defensive football: "All I saw was purple, that's all. No numbers, just purple."
The Dawgs would go on to three straight Rose Bowls and win a share of the National Title in 1991. Oh, and by the way, my new friends did shut up! Enjoy the video.
