Huskies' Kyler Gordon on Oregon: 'Can't Let History Repeat Itself'

Eleven months ago, it was Oregon week and the University of Washington football team went through a spirited practice, already in a proper mood to face the Ducks.

The next day, however, Jimmy Lake's players received a COVID-19 alert from the school. The athletic facilities were temporarily closed and everyone was told to stand by. Yet no one was overly concerned by this. 

Previously, the Huskies had lost a player here and there to a positive virus test as the health crisis wouldn't let up much even with precautions in place, namely going without a couple of wide receivers and an edge rusher in the Utah and Stanford games, but the games went on as planned.

Everyone expected to be back on the field soon last year, to travel to Eugene for the rivalry meeting, to play for first place in the North Division. 

This interruption, however, would be different — the Oregon game was canceled and the UW soon was forced to pull the plug on the rest of the 2020 season. No quasi championship run, no bowl game, no reward of any kind, just a pandemic punishment. 

The virus went through the entire UW offensive line, player after player, in a domino effect. Each day, someone new was infected. Those guys remained in close contact online over a group chat, sharing their experiences and disappointments. They all had something in common here.

None of the Huskies' 20-plus linemen was spared. Each of them lost their sense of taste and smell, which proved to be a weird and a wild sensation, but no one got seriously ill. They all recovered. They had to readdress their focus to the offseason and spring football.  

Nearly a year later, Washington (4-4 overall, 3-2 conference) and Oregon (7-1, 4-1) will try it again on Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium, answering to a 4:30 p.m. kickoff with the Pac-12 North Division at stake. ABC-TV will broadcast this rumble by the lake.

With everyone in uniform now vaccinated by school mandates, playing this football contest won't be threatened, though the weather could get dicey for everyone involved. 

It seems like a dreary yet exciting afternoon is ahead for a pair of Northwest rivals who will do just about anything to beat each other. They last met in Seattle, two years ago, with Oregon making a second-half run for a 35-31 victory. The Huskies let a two-touchdown lead slip away over the final 28 minutes of play.

"I can't let history repeat itself, can't let it happen again," Husky defensive back Kyler Gordon said, remembering that painful day. "I want to change events however I can."

Both sides have quarterbacks who have been much maligned this season in the Ducks' Anthony Brown and the UW's Dylan Morris. The winner here will buy himself some peace and quiet from his fan base.

Each team has a superlative edge rusher in Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux and the Huskies' Zion Tupuola-Fetui. In August, even with ZTF out injured, both turned up in the top six of a Sports Illustrated NFL mock draft. Thibodeaux is nursing an ankle sprain; ZTF has been back for just a month following offseason surgery. Nobody will notice any of their physical maladies.

The Ducks made this season memorable early on by winning at Ohio State and now rank fourth in the College Football Playoff. They have everything to lose. They might even have a hard time finding a better postseason game to play than beating the Buckeyes in Columbus. 

By getting upset in their opener by FCS Montana, the Huskies made this season regrettable and have been scrambling ever since to salvage things. They really have nothing to lose except more pride. These UW players should feel fairly loose and relaxed as they go for an upset.   

The beauty of a UW-Oregon football game, of which there have been 112 (the Huskies hold a 60-47-5 edge), is any outcome is possible. These sides dislike each other so much, the emotional response often times neutralizes the talent levels.

Gordon, one of the Huskies' better players and locally produced, says the excitement will elevate quickly once his teammates get on the field and see the home crowd and the opposing colors. 

He remembers coming to a UW-Oregon game as a kid and experiencing this carnival show for the first time. He never forgot it and wanted to be a part of it. 

"I was young," he said. "I saw that the guys don't like each other. It was bad."

Not much has changed. Let the feathers and the fur fly. Let it rain all day long. Whoever wins this game will deserve it.

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