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| Washington players celebrate after thier game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds of their game against Arizona State. |
Not often do college football fans see a top-25 showdown between conference teams to start the season, but that was the case in 1998 when the #18 Washington Huskies traveled to Tempe to take on the #8 Arizona State Sun Devils.
The Huskies came into the game looking to get the bad taste out of their mouth after a three-game losing streak in November derailed their chances of earning a trip to the Rose Bowl and instead had to settle for a trip to the Aloha Bowl where they defeated Michigan State.
The Huskies were led by head coach Jim Lambright, who was in his sixth season as the Washington head coach after serving as the team's defensive coordinator for 15 years under previous head coach Don James, and junior quarterback Brock Huard, younger brother of Damon who had lead the Huskies to their famous win over Miami in 1994 which ended the Hurricanes' 58-game winning streak at the Orange Bowl.
On the other side were the Sun Devils, who were looking to return to the Rose Bowl where 20 months earlier, they lost a 20-17 heartbreaker to the Ohio State Buckeyes which ended Arizona State's chances of a national championship.
The Sun Devils were under the direction of head coach Bruce Snyder, who was in his seventh season in Tempe, and featured junior running back J.R. Redmond, who was seen by some as a Heisman Trophy Candidate.
The Sun Devils would get the ball to start the game as they drove 61 yards in seven plays to score the game's first touchdown as quarterback Ryan Kealy hit tight end Kendrick Bates for a 13-yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 7-0 lead.
Following a 42-yard kickoff return by Joe Jarzynka, the Huskies would begin their first possession of the game at their 43-yard-line as Washington would convert on four 3rd down situations to drive 57 yards in 13 plays to tie the game at 7 as Huard connected with tight end Reggie Davis for a three-yard touchdown.
The Sun Devils would respond with a 14-play, 71-yard drive that was capped off with a spectacular one-handed catch by freshman tight end Todd Heap for a 15-yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 14-7 lead with 2:19 left in the first quarter.
It looked like a shootout was developing as Ja' Warren Hooker returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards in Sun Devil territory to set up an apparent 17-yard touchdown pass from Huard to Dane Looker.
However, the touchdown was called back because of a false start penalty as the Huskies would turn it over on downs as running back Jason Harris was tackled one yard short of the 1st down after catching a short pass from Huard as the game moved into the second quarter.
The Washington defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 13-yard-line as Huard led the Huskies down the field on a 10-play, 87-yard drive that culminated with a 16-yard touchdown run by Pat Conniff to tie the game at 14 with 9:05 remaining in the second quarter.
It would only take the Sun Devils two minutes to reclaim the lead as a 47-yard swing pass from Kealy to Redmond help set up a two-yard touchdown run by Daveron Hightower to give Arizona State a 21-14 lead.
After being burned on two kickoffs, the Sun Devils decided to pooch kick in hopes of not having a Husky produce a long kickoff return.
The Sun Devils would get more that as no Washington player was alert enough to pounce on the ball since it is a live ball after the kick goes 10 yards which resulted in a recovery by defensive back Kyion Graves to give Arizona State the ball at the Huskies' 31-yard-line.
Two plays later, the Sun Devils were back in the end zone as Kealy handed the ball off to Hightower who then pitched it to Redmond, who then took around the right side of the field for a 22-yard touchdown to increase the Arizona State to 28-14 with 5:30 left in the second quarter.
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| Sun Devils running back J.R. Redmond accounted for 254 yards on 27 touches. |
After giving up two touchdowns in a span of 95 seconds, the Huskies responded with an eight-play, 77-yard drive which began with a 32-yard catch & run by Looker and ended with the true freshman catching a three-yard touchdown pass from Huard to cut the deficit to 28-21 with 3:04 left before halftime.
Despite a penalty which made them start their next possession at their nine-yard-line, the Sun Devils would quickly drive down the field as Kealy completed a 36-yard pass to Lenzie Jackson, then handed the ball off to Kenny Mithcell who ran for 15 yards which was followed by a 10-yard run by Hightower to put Arizona State at the Washington 30-yard-line.
However, a holding penalty would stall the drive and force the Sun Devils to attempt a 42-yard field goal by Mike Gauthier, which sailed wide left and no good to keep the score at 28-21 as neither team would mount another scoring threat for the rest of the first half.
Following a Washington punt after their first possession of the second half, the Sun Devils took over at their 20-yard-line where two plays would pick up 14 yards until the first turnover of the game happened when Redmond lost the football after he was hit by Huskies cornerback Toure Butler, leading to a recovery by roverback Nigel Burton at the Arizona State 49-yard-line.
Two runs by Maurice Shaw for nine yards and an incomplete pass would set up a 4th & 1 when Lambright decided to go for the 1st down which he got when Huard completed a six-yard pass to Looker.
Three plays later, the Huskies had a 2nd & goal at when Huard threw a pass for Harris that bounced off his hands and into the arms of Looker for a nine-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 28.
A 40-yard kickoff return by Jackson would give the Sun Devils great field position to start their ensuing possession at their 41-yard-line as three plays gained nine yards to set up a 4th & 1 when Snyder decided to go for it.
But unlike the Huskies, the Sun Devils could not convert as Washington linebacker Jeff Johnson stopped Redmond for no gain to give Washington the ball at the 50-yard-line.
It would take the Huskies six plays to get into the end zone as Harris punched it in for a five-yard touchdown to give Washington its first lead of the game at 35-28 with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils would then hold the ball for over seven minutes as they drove 54 yards in 16 plays to set up a 42-yard field goal by Gauthier which cut the Washington lead to 35-31 with 12:21 left in the fourth quarter.
After forcing the Huskies to go three-and-out on their next possession, the Sun Devils appeared to retake the lead as Redmond returned the punt 67 yards for a touchdown, only to have it nullified because of a block in the back, forcing Arizona State to start its next drive at its 28-yard-line.
The Sun Devils would eventually punt it back to the Huskies who took over at their 21-yard-line, picked up one 1st down before throwing three straight incomplete passes to force another punt.
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| Washington quarterback Brock Huard completed 27 of 47 passes for 318 yards and threw four touchdowns passes. |
Redmond would again receive the punt and run 61 yards until he was tackled at the Washington 20-yard-line with 4:33 left in the game.
The Sun Devils would soon be faced with a 4th & 1 at the Washington 11-yard-line which they converted as Redmond ran for two yards to give Arizona State a fresh set of downs at the Huskies' nine-yard-line.
An one-yard run by Jeff Paulk and two incomplete passes later, the Sun Devils were faced with a do-or-die 4th & goal when Kealy fired a pass for Tariq McDonald in the end zone, who despite being interfered with, made the catch for the eight-yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 38-35 lead with exactly two minutes remaining.
The Huskies would take over at their 20-yard-line, needing only a field goal to tie the game to send into overtime, as Huard threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then hit Todd Elstorm for eight yards which got 15 yards added to it after a roughing the passer penalty on Sun Devils defensive tackle Albrey Battle gave Washington a 1st down at its 43-yard-line.
An incomplete pass followed by a seven-yard pass to Looker set up 3rd & 3 when Huard tried to pitch the ball to Harris, only for the pitch to go behind Harris, who landed on top of the ball back at the Washington 37-yard-line.
The good news was the Huskies still had the ball, the bad news it was now 4th & 17.
That is when Huard lofted a pass for Davis, who made the catch at around the Arizona State 40-yard-line, ran down the right sideline as he was able to break a tackle at the 10-yard-line before finally getting into the end zone for a shocking 63-yard touchdown to give Washington a 42-38 lead with 27 seconds to play.
But the way this game was going, it seemed whoever had the ball last would win as the Sun Devils would take over at their 46-yard-line following a 31-yard kickoff return by Lenzie Jackson.
After throwing an incomplete pass on 1st down, Kealy was intercepted by Washington free safety Brendan Jones to seemingly end the game only to have a personal foul negate the interception and give Arizona State a 1st down at the Huskies' 39-yard-line with six seconds left.
That gave Kealy one last chance at a Hail Mary but his pass fell incomplete as time expired with the Huskies on top 42-38.
The heartbreaking loss to Washington would send the Sun Devils' season into a downward spiral as they would finish the season 5-6 for the team's first losing season since 1994.
As for the Huskies, the win over Arizona State would be the highlight of their season as they would go to finish the regular season with a 6-5 record to earn an invitation to the Oahu Bowl where they lost to the Air Force Academy 45-25 to finish the season with a 6-6 record, the first non-winning season since 1976 which resulted in the dismassal of Lambright as head coach, who was replaced by Rick Neuheisel.
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