Washington vs. Michigan ‘feels like a rivalry.’ A look back at the storied history between the two football programs
The Washington Huskies are headed back to Ann Arbor for the first time in nearly two decades.
Saturday night, they will meet up with Michigan in the first game of a home-and-home series between the two programs, with the Wolverines scheduled to make the return trip to Seattle in 2028.
This will be the 13th meeting between UW and Michigan, and the late evening contest will surely add another exciting entry to the storied series.
“I know we don’t play them a ton, but it kind of feels like a rivalry, just knowing the history,” Huskies tight end Cade Otton said this week. “I’m super lucky to be a part of it, and there’s a lot of energy and electricity going into game day this week, so I’m super excited.”
Michigan leads the all-time series, which began nearly seven decades ago, 7-5, but the Huskies have won five of the past eight.
Here’s a detailed look back at the previous 12 meetings between these two programs, as they get set for their first matchup since 2002.
Game 1 — Michigan 50, Washington 0
Date: Sept. 26, 1953
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 1-0
Recap: The inaugural meeting between these two programs ended with UW’s biggest margin of defeat in more than 30 seasons — the Huskies hadn’t lost a game by 50 points since they were thumped by Cal, 72-3, in 1921. The Wolverines scored eight touchdowns — two each by halfbacks Ted Kress and Tony Branoff, and one apiece by quarterback Louis Baldacci, halfback Ed Hickey and fullbacks Dave Hill and Bob Hurley — including at least one in every quarter. The Huskies, obviously, didn’t score any. The Wolverines tallied 20 first downs. The Huskies managed five. The Wolverines racked up 337 yards on the ground, and 134 more through the air, while the Huskies had only 72 rushing yards, 61 passing yards, threw three interceptions and lost three fumbles. The Huskies finished 3-6-1 that year, and second-to-last in the Pacific Coast Conference. Michigan ended the season 6-3 and ranked 20th in the AP poll. UW didn’t lose another game by 50 points until a 58-0 shutout loss to Oregon in 1973 as a member of the Pac-8.
Game 2 — Michigan 14, Washington 0
Date: Sept. 25, 1954
Location: Seattle, Wash.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 2-0
Recap: The Huskies put up more of a fight when Michigan made the return trip to Seattle the year after its eight-touchdown rout, but the Wolverines still produced another shutout — the second of only two shutouts in the all-time series. UW actually finished the game with better offensive totals — 246 yards to Michigan’s 237 — but Michigan capitalized on an early turnover with a 21-yard rushing touchdown by Baldacci, and he added another 1-yard score in the third quarter, while the Huskies never found the end zone. UW won only two games that season, against Utah and Oregon State, to again finish second-to-last in the PCC. Michigan ended the season 6-3 again, and ranked 15th in the AP poll.
Game 3 — No. 20 Michigan 45, Washington 7
Date: Sept. 27, 1969
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 3-0
Recap: The Huskies didn’t see Michigan again for 15 years — but when they did match up with the Wolverines again, the result was disappointingly similar. Michigan led by only two touchdowns at the break, but scored on each of first four possessions in second half on its way to another rout of the Huskies. The Wolverines piled up 581 yards of offense, quarterback Dan Moorhead passed for one touchdown to Jim Mandich and rushed for three more, Glenn Doughty and Garvie Craw also rushed for touchdowns and Jim Betts connected with Bill Harris for a long touchdown pass for the final score of the game. The Huskies’ lone touchdown — their first ever against Michigan — came in the third quarter on a 7-yard connection between backup quarterback Steve Hanzlik and halfback Buddy Kennamer. That made the score 24-7, but the Huskies never found the end zone again, despite finishing with 296 yards of offense. The loss to Michigan was the second of nine consecutive losses for the Huskies to start the season. Their only win was in the Apple Cup in their season finale, leaving them second-to-last in the Pac-8 standings. Michigan went 8-3, but lost to USC in the Rose Bowl, and ended the season ranked ninth.
Game 4 — No. 10 Michigan 17, Washington 3
Date: Sept. 26, 1970
Location: Seattle, Wash.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 4-0
Recap: This game slipped away late for UW, which ended the day still searching for its first win in the series. The Huskies took an early lead when kicker Steve Wiezbowki hit a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter, and UW’s defense kept Michigan off the board in the first half, but the Wolverines matched the three points with a 39-yarder in the third to make it 3-3. It was all Michigan from there. The Huskies turned the ball over on downs late in the quarter, and Wolverines running back Preston Henry capped the ensuing drive with the winning 8-yard touchdown run. UW was on the verge of getting the ball back late in the fourth, still down 10-3, but a penalty on what would have been a punt by the Wolverines, gave them a first down, and Henry added his second score of the day, this time a 30-yard scamper, with less than 30 seconds to play. UW rallied to finish 6-4 and second in the Pac-8 by the end of the season. Michigan went 9-1 and finished ranked ninth.
Game 5 — No. 13 Washington 27, No. 4 Michigan 20
Date: Jan. 2, 1978
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 4-1
Recap: It took five tries, but the Huskies finally bested Michigan, nearly 25 years after the two programs met for the first time. UW had already closed out wins against ranked opponents in Cal and USC, won the Apple Cup and the Pac-12 title to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl — its first bowl appearance and win under legendary coach Don James. The Huskies’ defense shut out Michigan in the first half, and the offense built a 24-0 lead before Michigan eventually scored early in the third quarter. Warren Moon rushed for a pair of touchdowns of 2 and 1 yards in the first half, and added a 28-yard scoring pass to Spider Gaines — who had four catches for 122 yards — in the third as the Huskies built their early lead. Steve Robbins added the first of his two field goals on a 30-yard make in the second quarter to give the Huskies a 17-0 lead at halftime. Rick Leach and Curt Stephenson connected on a 76-yard touchdown pass for the Wolverines’ first touchdown, and after Robbins answered with a 28-yard field goal, Michigan rallied for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth. Russell Davis rushed for a 2-yard score, and Leach tossed a 32-yard touchdown to Stan Edwards to cut UW’s lead to seven. But, the Wolverines’ comeback bid ended with two interceptions in the final two minutes. Huskies linebacker Michael Jackson picked off Leach inside the UW 5 to stymie one scoring drive, and Nesby Glasgow picked off another pass on Michigan’s final drive before Moon and the Huskies lined up in victory formation and closed out the upset. It was UW’s first Rose Bowl win since the 1961 win over Minnesota. The Huskies finished the season 8-4 and ranked 10th in the final AP poll. The Wolverines finished 10-2 and ranked ninth. Beginning with this game, the Huskies have won five of the past eight meetings with Michigan.
Game 6 — No. 5 Michigan 23, No. 16 Washington 6
Date: Jan. 1, 1981
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 5-1
Recap: This game was close at the break — The Wolverines led, 7-6 — but Michigan shut the Huskies out in the second half, while also piling up more than 300 yards of offense and three more scores in the final two quarters to secure its first Rose Bowl win in the series against UW. The Huskies took their only lead midway through the second quarter when Chuck Nelson hit the first of his two field goals from 35 yards out to make it 3-0. Michigan answered with a 6-yard touchdown run by Butch Woolfolk — who finished with 192 rushing yards on 26 attempts — before Nelson kicked a 26-yarder to make it 7-6 at the break. But, the Huskies didn’t score again. Michigan controlled possession for much of the second half, and added a 25-yard field goal by Ali Haji-Sheikh and two more touchdowns — including a 7-yard pass from quarterback John Wangler to Anthony Carter in the third, and a 1-yard run by Stan Edwards inside the final five minutes to push the game out of reach. Michigan finished fourth in the AP poll with a 10-2 record. The Huskies ended the season 9-3, and the Pac-10 winners been on a four-game winning streak entering the game, including upsetting then-No. 2 USC. They finished No. 16 in the poll.
Game 7 — No. 16 Washington 25, No. 8 Michigan 24
Date: Sept. 17, 1983
Location: Seattle, Wash.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 5-2
Recap: The late heroics of quarterback Steve Pelluer gave the Huskies their first-ever win over Michigan in front of their home crowd. With UW trailing 24-10, Pelluer engineered a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives to lift the Huskies to a victory. Walt Hunt capped the first of the two drives in the final quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run with just over nine minutes to play. Then, as the game reached its final moments, Pelluer found Mark Pattison for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds to play. He then connected with Larry Michael on the following two-point try to give UW its final one-point edge. Pelluer finished 27-of-33 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and ended the game with 14 consecutive completions. The Huskies’ defense held on Michigan’s ensuing drive to seal the win. But, earlier on, it seemed the Wolverines were on their way to sweeping the two Pac-10 schools from Washington, having topped the Cougars a week earlier in their season-opener. Todd Schlopy opened scoring for Michigan with a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter, which was answered by Jeff Jaeger’s 33-yarder for the Huskies later in the period. UW took a 10-3 lead into halftime after Pelluer connected with Dave Stransky for a 19-yard score. But, Michigan scored three more touchdowns before the Huskies answered. Rick Rogers capped one scoring drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Then the Wolverines capitalized on an interception with a 1-yard rushing score by Steve Smith. Michigan linebacker Mike Mallory recovered a fumble in the end zone moments into the fourth to extend the lead to 24-10 before the Huskies rallied late. This was the first of three consecutive wins for the Huskies against Michigan — their longest such streak in the series — and their first in Seattle. UW finished the season 8-4, second in the Pac-10 and eventually lost to Penn State in the Aloha Bowl. Michigan finished 9-3, ranked eighth and lost to third-ranked Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.
Game 8 — No. 16 Washington 20, No. 3 Michigan 11
Date: Sept. 15, 1984
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 5-3
Recap: This was the second of the Huskies’ nine consecutive wins to open the season — and it came a week after Michigan had bested top-ranked Miami. UW never trailed after Jeff Jaeger hit the first of his two field goals from 25 yards out in the first quarter. Michigan tied the game on Robert Bergeron’s 52-yard field goal in the second, but UW built a 10-3 lead by the break on Rick Fenney’s 2-yard rushing touchdown. The Huskies scored twice more by the end of the third — on a long 73-yard touchdown pass from Hugh Millen to Mark Pattison and a 38-yard field goal by Jaeger — to make it 20-3. Michigan’s only touchdown in the game came in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard connection between quarterback Jim Harbaugh — now the Wolverines’ coach — and Vince Bean. UW’s defense forced five turnovers during the contest, recovering two fumbles and picking Harbaugh three times to solidify the Huskies’ first-ever win in Ann Arbor. The Huskies rose to No. 1 in the AP rankings later in the season, and stayed there for several weeks until dropping their one loss of the season to No. 14 USC, to finish second in the Pac-10. They wrapped up an 11-1 season with a win over No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, and finished ranked No. 2. BYU ended the season as the top-ranked team, topping the Wolverines in the Holiday Bowl. Michigan finished 6-6 and unranked.
Game 9 — No. 2 Washington 34, No. 4 Michigan 14
Date: Jan. 1, 1992
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 5-4
Recap: The win capped a perfect 12-0 season for the Huskies — their best finish in program history — and earned them a share of the national title. When the final rankings came out the morning after UW convincingly bested Michigan in the Rose Bowl — Miami won the AP poll, but the Huskies topped the coaches poll. UW never trailed in its season finale against Michigan, scoring the game’s first touchdown in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Billy Joe Hobert. Michigan tied the game on a 9-yard pass from Elvis Grbac to Walter Smith. But, the Huskies tallied the next five scores. Travis Hanson made field goals of 24 and 23 yards to give UW a 13-7 halftime lead. Then Hobert found Mark Bruener for a 5-yard touchdown in the third, and Aaron Pierce for a 2-yard score early in the fourth. Mark Brunell later connected with Mario Bailey for a 38-yard touchdown that made it 34-7 in the fourth. Michigan’s only other score was a 53-yard touchdown run by Tyrone Wheatley later in the quarter, but the Huskies were well in control by then. Hobert finished 18-of-34 passing for 192 yards and the two touchdowns, Brunell 7-of-8 for 89 yards and the one score, and Bailey led the Huskies with a game-high 126 receiving yards and the touchdown on six catches, while Pierce had 86 yards and a score on seven catches. It all contributed to UW’s 404 yards of offense, which nearly doubled Michigan’s 205. And the Huskies celebrated in Pasadena. The decisive win over Michigan capped a dominant season for UW, during which the unbeaten Pac-12 champions outscored their opponents, 495-115, and also had key wins over No. 9 Nebraska and No. 7 Cal. Michigan finished 10-2 that season and sixth in the final AP poll.
Game 10 — No. 7 Michigan 38, No. 9 Washington 31
Date: Jan. 1, 1993
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 6-4
Recap: There was no repeat Rose Bowl victory for the Huskies a season after securing their national title. Instead, it was Michigan celebrating in Pasadena at the end of a back-and-forth contest that didn’t produce the decisive score until late in the fourth. The two teams were locked at 31-31 entering the final quarter, and stayed there until Wolverines quarterback Elvis Grbac connected with Tony McGee for the go-ahead 15-yard touchdown with less than six minutes to play. The Huskies had a chance to even it again late, blocking a Michigan punt and setting themselves up in Wolverines territory in the final moments, but quarterback Mark Brunell’s four passes on the Huskies’ final drive fell incomplete, and the Wolverines secured their second Rose Bowl win over UW. Before this game was over, though, the lead changed seven times. Michigan took the first lead on a Pete Elezovic 41-yard field goal in the first quarter, before UW answered with a Darius Turner 1-yard run to make it 7-3 Huskies. The Wolverines grabbed the lead back by the end of the quarter, and scored the next two touchdowns on a 49-yard pass from Grbac to McGee, and the first of Tyrone Wheatley’s three touchdowns on a 56-yard run to make it 17-7. The Huskies took the lead back by the break on two touchdown passes from Brunell to Jason Shelley (63 yards) and Mark Bruener (18) to go up 21-17 at halftime. Wheatley ripped off an 88-yard touchdown run in the third to make it 24-21 Wolverines, but UW tallied the next two scores on a 1-yard run from Napoleon Kaufman and a 44-yard field goal by Travis Hanson to take the Huskies’ final lead at 31-24 in the third. Wheatley tied it with his final 24-yard touchdown, and finished with 235 yards on 15 carries. Brunell finished 18-of-30 passing for 308 yards and the two scores, and ended the game with four career Rose Bowl records. The two teams combined for nearly 900 yards of offense. Michigan finished the season ranked fifth in the AP poll with a 9-0-3 record, while UW, which had risen to No. 1 in the rankings during the season and won the Pac-10 title, eventually ended at No. 11 in the poll with a 9-3 record. UW and Michigan haven’t met in the Rose Bowl in the nearly three decades since this game, leaving that series still tied at 2-2.
Game 11 — No. 15 Washington 23, No. 11 Michigan 18
Date: Sept. 8, 2001
Location: Seattle, Wash.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 6-5
Recap: The Huskies didn’t score an offensive touchdown during Michigan’s most recent trip to Seattle — but it turned out they didn’t need to. When cornerback Omare Lowe blocked a Wolverines field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, and Roc Alexander returned it 77 yards for a touchdown, the Huskies took a 13-12 lead they never lost. That score happened at the 9:11 mark of the fourth quarter. It was less than a minute later, at the 8:20 mark, when Lowe picked off Wolverines quarterback John Navarre and returned the interception 21 yards for a score. John Anderson cushioned the lead more for the Huskies when he connected on a 30-yard field goal with less than five minutes left to make it 23-12. Michigan added another score late on a 20-yard pass from Navarre to Marquise Walker, but never got closer. The Wolverines had taken an early lead on a safety in the first quarter, but Anderson responded with two field goals of 43 and 26 yards. Navarre found Walker for their first touchdown connection of 5 yards to give Michigan a three-point edge at halftime, and the Wolverines made it 12-6 in the third on a Hayden Epstein 38-yard field goal before UW’s late comeback. Walker finished with a game-high 159 yards and the two touchdowns on 15 catches. Lakes High School product Reggie Williams caught four passes for a team-high 134 yards in his Huskies debut. UW finished 8-4 that season, second in the Pac-10 and ranked 19th in the final AP poll after losing to No. 9 Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Michigan also went 8-4, and finished 20th in the poll after losing to No. 8 Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
Game 12 — No. 13 Michigan 31, No. 11 Washington 29
Date: Aug. 31, 2002
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
All-time series: Michigan leads, 7-5
Recap: The Huskies had a chance to even the all-time series during the most recent meeting between the two programs in their season-opener 19 years ago, and held the lead heading into the final seconds in Ann Arbor, but what surely seemed like imminent victory at the time turned into a crushing loss moments later, when UW was flagged for illegal participation with six seconds to play, extending Michigan’s final drive and setting up the Wolverines’ game-winning field goal. Here’s how it played out: The Huskies were clinging to a 29-28 lead, and had Michigan facing third-and-10 at the UW 43 with 12 seconds remaining. Wolverines quarterback John Navarre threw incomplete deep over the middle, and it seemed all the Huskies had to do was stave off what likely would have been one final throw toward the end zone on fourth down. But, there was laundry on the field, and the penalty was against UW. Illegal participation, 12 men on the field, 15 yards and a first down that sent Michigan into field goal range. Navarre spiked the ball with five seconds to play, and Philip Brabbs connected on a 44-yard field goal try — the first make of his career — as time expired, lifting the Wolverines to a 31-29 win. Michigan’s Chris Perry scored the game’s opening touchdown in the first quarter on a 57-yard burst, and added two more scores of 2 and 3 yards in the second half. After Perry’s first score, the Wolverines went up two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 45-yard pass from Navarre to Braylon Edwards. UW answered with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Cody Pickett to Kevin Ware and a 6-yard run from Rich Alexis to cut the lead to 14-13 at halftime. The Huskies added a 51-yard connection between Pickett and Charles Frederick, and a 30-yard field goal by John Anderson in the third, and Perry added his final two touchdowns for Michigan before Alexis’ 1-yard scoring run midway through the fourth gave the Huskies their final lead. Michigan ended the season 10-3 and ranked ninth in the final AP poll after winning the Outback Bowl over No. 22 Florida. The Huskies ended up 7-6, seventh in the Pac-10 and unranked by season’s end, losing their final game to Purdue in the Sun Bowl.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Washington vs. Michigan ‘feels like a rivalry.’ A look back at the storied history between the two football programs."
