Coming into Husky Stadium for their showdown on October 28th, Washington and USC were tied for the lead in the PAC-10, both undefeated at 3-0. Oregon was the only other Rose Bowl contender, at 2-1. The Huskies knew that with a win, they could virtually sew up a Rose Bowl berth, while a loss would almost certainly preclude them from bowling for the roses. Added to this was a desire for revenge, with the last two seasons' losses to USC fresh on the Huskies' minds. In fact, USC had been the team who had broken the Huskies' home winning streak two years earlier.

When the Huskies took a 21-0 lead in the second half of the game, the fans had Pasadena on their mind. Unfortunately, the Dawgs chose to sit on their lead, and a margin that seemed almost unsurmountable proved not to be so. USC scored a touchdown with under a minute left to bring the score to 21-20, and then chose to kick the extra point to tie the game. Their decision not to "go for two" was motivated by USC's possessing a tie-breaker edge over the Huskies -- if they finish the season with identical conference records, the Trojans will head to the Rose Bowl. Not wanting to risk an interception and an outright loss, the Huskies decided to sit on the ball for the remaining half-minute of the game, taking the tie.

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