UW Football Has Totally Dominated Northwestern Series

In three games, the Huskies have outscored the Big Ten team 105-7.

The Northwestern football team takes the field against the Eastern Illinois Panthers last weekend. / David Banks-Imagn Images

The Northwestern football team comes to Husky Stadium on Saturday not only to welcome the University of Washington into the Big Ten but to see if it can finally generate some offense in its fourth game against an opponent that also prefers wearing the color purple.

Over 45 years and 12 quarters of football, these Wildcats from Evanston, Illinois, have scored just one touchdown against the UW -- and it took a back-up player to get the ball into the end zone.

In 1980, reserve running back Kenny Watkins scooted 11 yards for a Northwestern score in the third quarter of the first meeting between the schools, providing the final points in an intersectional match-up the Huskies won without any trouble, 45-7.

What followed were 34-0 and 26-0 UW victories, meaning the Huskies now hold a 105-7 scoring advantage in this series with Northwestern looking for some long overdue offensive redemption as it makes the rounds of Montlake following a long absence.

The aforementioned Watkins turned out more than OK in his professional life in spite of that long and humbling afternoon in Seattle. He's now a Detroit trial lawyer for a prominent firm whose internet profile suggests he has litigated several multi-million judgements and settlements for his clients.

Maybe Watkins should sue the Huskies on behalf of his former Big Ten team for past damages.

In 1980, with the Don James era beginning to show some real teeth, the Huskies hosted and routed Northwestern with an absolutely flawless first-half showing at home.

The UW scored 1:37 into the game when running back Toussaint Tyler supplied the first of his three short touchdown runs. It was seven Husky possessions in the opening half, seven scores. Benno DeFeo made it 45-0 at halftime with a 2-yard run with 41 seconds left.

Tyler and DeFeo were two of eight running backs the Huskies deployed that day as everything worked no matter who was playing for the legendary James and the coach just kept freely substituting, trying to be merciful. Sadly, DeFeo died in 2022 after a lengthy battle with lymphatic cancer,

"I just have tremendous respect for their entire program," Northwestern coach Rick Venturi said after the initial game with the UW. "And one more thing: I'm real happy to be leaving Seattle."

Three years later, these teams met north of Chicago on a field with views of Lake Michigan, one that's recently been torn up and is being replaced.

The Huskies prevailed in 1983 using a suffocating defense on an extremely humid day in the Midwest, with linebacker Tim Meamber coming up with 15 tackles and defensive tackle Ron Holmes supplying a pair of sacks in the 34-0 victory. Running back Walt Hunt capped the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run.

Unfortunately, Holmes, who played eight seasons in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos, was 48 when he died in 2011 suffering from complications of diabetes and coronary issues. Hunt was 58 when he died in 2022 from lingering heart problems.

In 1984, with the Huskies on the way to the Orange Bowl and a win over Oklahoma, beat up Northwestern 26-0 in a game that earmarked the UW football debut for quarterback Hugh Millen and the continuing dominance of Meamber.

Millen ran for a touchdown while Meamber intercepted three passes and blocked a field goal that day at Husky Stadium.

At last word, Meamber was still with us, but his post-football life had been tough for him. The former Husky and NFL player suffered a personal fall from grace when he became homeless in Skagit County for a time. He hasn't been heard from for a couple of years now.

Yet maybe the memory of beating up on Northwestern so long ago, of keeping the Wildcats from scoring more than a solitary touchdown in those previous outings, will make Meamber reappear, want to put on a helmet and call for another UW shutout.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington