Road to 1991 Perfection: Brunell Blindsided by Kansas State Game Reaction

The University of Washington quarterback had to get his bearings once on the field. The crowd was going crazy and he couldn't figure out why.

Mark Brunell ran just a few steps onto the field at Husky Stadium when he heard the cascading roar.

It startled him.

He wasn't sure who or what it was directed at.

Brunell had been the hard-luck story for the University of Washington football team. He was the Huskies' super-talented quarterback, the unabashed leader of a 10-2 team and a Rose Bowl MVP from the season before. He been subjected to major knee surgery after getting hurt in spring practice. 

Now five months later, Brunell was back. Three games into the 1991 season, he was starting over against overmatched Kansas State, which was 3-0 but a 39-point underdog. The game already was a blowout. 

"I was really thinking from a football standpoint, just get the snap," Brunell said. "Don't fumble. Don't throw an interception. Don't trip while you're walking onto the field. My mind was football."

He hadn't planned for this thunderous reception once he headed to the UW huddle near the end of the third quarter. It threw him off. Finally it dawned upon him what was going on. 

"I'm walking onto the field and it's, "You've got to be kidding me!' " Brunell said. "I finally got to the place, where it's,'They're cheering for me.' It was really, really a cool moment. I didn't care what happened next."

He pulled mop-up duty, which was new to him, because UW starting quarterback Billy Joe Hobert had been his back-up the season before. He was rusty for sure, throwing an interception while completing 4 of 6 passes.

Brunell didn't do anything but show up that afternoon and it was more enough to make this an unforgettable moment for everyone, Brunell, his teammates, the fans.

"It was one of my favorite moments on a football field and it had nothing to do with football," he said. "It was really cool for me."

This is another in a series of articles and videos that will replay the UW's 1991 national championship season, which is the apex of Husky football. We're a month out from the California road opener to start the 2020 season. Meantime, we'll use '91 as a conversation piece.

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