[Austroturf]

During the Plunkett era, I was a young Husky fan living in Seattle.  Washington had a talented young QB by the name of Sonny Sixkiller (no match for Plunkett's abilities, but an excellent collegiate QB); and we were hoping for an upset victory down on the Farm.  But Plunkett out-dueled Sixkiller to lead Stanford to a 29-22 victory en route to a Pac-8 title and a Rose Bowl berth.  

Washington finished in a 4-way tie for second at 4-3. Frankly, I was happy to see Stanford win the conference title because I was so sick of seeing USC win.  It was a refreshing spectacle to see Stanford in the Rose Bowl; and since Plunkett and his story were so inspiring, you simply had to like the guy (even if he had just punked your team).

Interesting because ten years earlier I was a young Husky fan living in Seattle. A great time to be a Husky fan as they went to three Rose Bowls in five years. Actually Jim Owens' career there somewhat paralleled Shaw's. A lot of success early and then things gradually declined.

I lived through it.  My father was the AD at Washington during this period.  When Owens resigned, he hired Don James.  But by that time, my allegiances had shifted to Stanford. Nonetheless, there is still some purple and gold running in my veins.  Just not when they play Stanford.  

There is a bit of a parallel between Owens and Shaw.  Owens seemed to be stuck in a power-running rut (which was how he had engineered his early success).  There was also a lot of turmoil at the time, and Owens was not always the most diplomatic.  The Sonny Sixkiller years were his last hurrah, then he rode off into the sunset.  But to be fair to Owens, in his last five years he went 6-4, 8-3, 8-3, 2-9 and 5-6.  The two 8-3 years were with Sixkiller as a junior and senior, then things tailed off.  But it's still a winning record at 28-25.  Shaw managed 22-32 in his last five seasons.  Also, the Washington program was not in tatters when Don James took over: he went 6-5, 5-6, 8-4 in his first 3 seasons, including a Pac-8 championship and a 27-20 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. If Stanford's next coach can do that, I will be very surprised given the current state of the program.

[Austroturf]

During the Plunkett era, I was a young Husky fan living in Seattle.  Washington had a talented young QB by the name of Sonny Sixkiller (no match for Plunkett's abilities, but an excellent collegiate QB); and we were hoping for an upset victory down on the Farm.  But Plunkett out-dueled Sixkiller to lead Stanford to a 29-22 victory en route to a Pac-8 title and a Rose Bowl berth.  

Washington finished in a 4-way tie for second at 4-3. Frankly, I was happy to see Stanford win the conference title because I was so sick of seeing USC win.  It was a refreshing spectacle to see Stanford in the Rose Bowl; and since Plunkett and his story were so inspiring, you simply had to like the guy (even if he had just punked your team).

Interesting because ten years earlier I was a young Husky fan living in Seattle. A great time to be a Husky fan as they went to three Rose Bowls in five years. Actually Jim Owens' career there somewhat paralleled Shaw's. A lot of success early and then things gradually declined.

I lived through it.  My father was the AD at Washington during this period.  When Owens resigned, he hired Don James.  But by that time, my allegiances had shifted to Stanford. Nonetheless, there is still some purple and gold running in my veins.  Just not when they play Stanford.  

There is a bit of a parallel between Owens and Shaw.  Owens seemed to be stuck in a power-running rut (which was how he had engineered his early success).  There was also a lot of turmoil at the time, and Owens was not always the most diplomatic.  The Sonny Sixkiller years were his last hurrah, then he rode off into the sunset.  But to be fair to Owens, in his last five years he went 6-4, 8-3, 8-3, 2-9 and 5-6.  The two 8-3 years were with Sixkiller as a junior and senior, then things tailed off.  But it's still a winning record at 28-25.  Shaw managed 22-32 in his last five seasons.  Also, the Washington program was not in tatters when Don James took over: he went 6-5, 5-6, 8-4 in his first 3 seasons, including a Pac-8 championship and a 27-20 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. If Stanford's next coach can do that, I will be very surprised given the current state of the program.