1975 Washington Huskies football team

Schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w

Preseason

Coming off a 5–6 season in 1974 under Jim Owens, James inherited a veteran squad with most of the talent on the defensive side of the ball, and they would be relied upon as the offense adjusted to running primarily from the I-formation. Fullback Robin Earl, who switched from tight end after four games last season, and center Ray Pinney were the foundation for the change occurring on that side of the ball.

Game summaries

Washington State

;Washington St ;Washington

• Warren Moon 4/22, 126 yards, 2 TD
• Robin Earl 9 rush, 51 yds
• Spider Gaines 2 rec, 107 yds, 2 TD

Trailing by thirteen points with three minutes remaining, defensive back Al Burleson returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown and sophomore quarterback Warren Moon connected with Bob "Spider" Gaines for a 78-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left to complete the comeback victory in the Apple Cup.

Washington State had dominated the second half and appeared on their way to another score when Burleson picked off John Hopkins and raced down the left sideline to the end zone with less than three minutes remaining.

Coach Don James was surprised by the Cougars electing to pass instead of playing for the field goal, saying "Had they made the field goal it would have put the nail in the coffin."

Following a three-and-out on Washington State's next possession, the Huskies started from their own 22. On the first play, Moon threw into coverage and the ball deflected off Leon Garrett and into the hands of teammate Gaines, who went 40 yards to score.

Until then, the Cougars had controlled the game thanks to fullback Vaughn Williams and tailback Dan Doornink, who appeared unstoppable against the Washington defense.

Washington's first score came on a quarterback sneak by Chris Rowland from the one for a 7-3 lead.

The Huskies scored again before halftime on a 29-yard pass from Moon to Gaines, who had primarily been used as a punt blocker to that point.

Moon had started the season as the starting quarterback, only to be replaced by Rowland after the offense struggled in the first few games.

Roster

• Dick Scesniak – (OC)
• Jim Mora – (DC)

Statistics

Passing

Moon played in eight games, started six

Rushing

Receiving

Awards

Al Burleson

• Honorable Mention All-American (AP, UPI)
• All-Pac-8
• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. Navy, USC, Washington State)

Charles Jackson

• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. Oregon)

Dan Lloyd

• All-Pac-8
• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. UCLA)
• Guy Flaherty Award (most inspirational)

Ray Pinney

• Honorable Mention All-American (AP, UPI)
• All-Pac-8

NFL draft selections

Seven University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1976 NFL draft, which lasted 17 rounds with 487 selections.

References

References

1. (September 14, 1975). "Huskies crunched by 35–12". The Columbian.
2. (September 21, 1975). "Startled Longhorns surge past Huskies". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
3. (September 28, 1975). "James gets first win as a Husky". The Bellingham Herald.
4. (October 5, 1975). "Huskies dump Ducks 27–17". The Spokesman-Review.
5. Browning, Al. (October 12, 1975). "Fifty years later: Alabama romps". The Tuscaloosa News.
6. (October 12, 1975). "Shelby hot as Crimson rip dogs". The Spokesman-Review.
7. (October 19, 1975). "Stanford hangs on to edge Washington". Ventura County Star.
8. (October 26, 1975). "Rowland proves his point in Husky romp". The Olympian.
9. (November 2, 1975). "Huskies sting UCLA for 17–13 upset win". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
10. (November 9, 1975). "Washington gambles and loses to Cal, 27–24". The Columbian.
11. (November 16, 1975). "Huskies' blitz offsets Southern Cal's Bell". The News Tribune.
12. (November 23, 1975). "Huskies' wild finish stuns Cougars 28–27". Tri-City Herald.
13. (September 8, 1975). "Conferences: Pacific Eight". Sports Illustrated.
14. Missildine, Harry. (November 23, 1975). "Bomb, theft beat Cougars". Spokesman-Review.
15. Barrows, Bob. (November 23, 1975). "Cougs bit from behind". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
16. (November 23, 1975). "WSU gets greedy, falls to Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard.
17. Brown, Bruce. (November 24, 1975). "Changes due at WSU". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
18. (October 4, 1975). "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard.
19. Barrows, Bob. (November 22, 1975). "Cougs close with Huskies". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
20. (2013). "You Always Remember Your First Time". YouTube.
21. 2009 Washington football media guide
22. "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com.