Although the schools began playing each other in 1900, the rivalry became heated from Oregon's perspective in 1948, when Oregon and California both went undefeated in the Pacific Coast Conference. California was undefeated overall, and Oregon's only loss was at undefeated Michigan, that year's national champions, and the Ducks had seven victories in the PCC to Cal's six. The winner of the PCC, as is today with the Pac-12, played in the Rose Bowl. Oregon, led by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and halfback John McKay, opted for a playoff game, but California declined. The tiebreaker format the PCC elected to use was that the championship team be elected by the schools. The PCC had ten member schools in 1948, six in the Northwest and four in California, so it was assumed that Oregon would be the team playing in the Rose Bowl, as even a vote would be in their favor. Instead California was voted champion of the PCC, because Washington had persuaded Montana to vote for California, something that has not been forgotten by Oregon fans. Within the last sixty years, the rivalry has grown between the two fanbases. In 1962, Larry Hill of Oregon was tackled by Washington fans who had rushed onto the field at Husky Stadium while he was trying to catch the tie-breaking touchdown on the game's final play. In 1995, Washington head coachJim Lambright unsuccessfully lobbied for the Huskies to be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl instead of the Ducks. Seattle Post Intelligencer columnist Bud Withers wrote that Lambright's actions "invited at least another half-century worth of bile from Oregon fans." After winning four of six over Lambright in the 1990s, the rivalry was given another boost in Oregon eyes when Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel moved to Washington in 1999. At the between #12 Oregon and #7 Colorado, Neuheisel called for a fake punt while the Buffaloes led with less than five minutes left. Oregon coach Mike Bellotti was also accused of turning Neuheisel in for recruiting during the dead period. The Ducks were 1–2 against the Huskies under Neuheisel, and the rivalry grew even more when Neuheisel celebrated by taking photos and jumping up and down on the "O" in the middle of the field after a win at Autzen Stadium Two years earlier, the Ducks' victory in 2000 in Eugene spoiled an otherwise undefeated season for the Huskies, who won the Rose Bowl and finished third in Due to Pac-10 scheduling, the teams did not meet in 2001, the first break in the rivalry since the hiatus in 1943 and 1944 due to Through 2019, Washington leads. The Huskies went from 1972 to 1993 and Washington followed it up with a home win Oregon ended their 2-game losing streak in the series in 2018 with a 30–27 overtime win over Washington in Eugene. In the 2019 rendition in Seattle, the Ducks came back from a 14-point deficit in the 2nd half to prevail 35-31 over the Huskies. It was the 2nd consecutive meeting in which both teams were ranked, and 7th all-time.
"The Pick"
Arguably the most iconic moment in the history of the rivalry for ducks fans happened in 1994, when Oregon freshman cornerback intercepted Washington quarterback and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown with under a minute to play to seal a 31-20 win for the Ducks and set them on course for what would become their first conference championship since 1957. This play, coined "The Pick", is widely credited as the turning point for the Oregon football program on their way to becoming a national power in the decades that followed. It also swung momentum in the rivalry that was until then mostly dominated by the Huskies, with Oregon owning an 19-6 record against Washington in the 25 years since. Just before kickoff of every Ducks home game, a replay of "The Pick" is shown on the Autzen Stadium video board, always accompanied by a loud and gleeful reaction.
Game results
Oregon's home games against Washington were played in Portland from 1911–13 and 1926–65.
