The Idaho Vandals have never really been exceptional when it comes to facing off against more talented teams. And, well, back in 2001, that was certainly the case as the Washington Huskies managed to absolutely bowl right through the Vandals and beat them by a whopping 50 points.
This game was just about as lopsided as it could possibly be! Well, Idaho did pick off Cody Pickett (fun name for a quarterback, to be honest) in this game. And he didn’t throw a touchdown. So… Maybe it could have been even more lopsided in UW’s favor?
I don’t know. All I do know is that Washington won with ease and the Vandals didn’t ever really have a chance here.
Exploring the most dominant wins in Washington Husky football history since 2000: Looking back on the 50-point win over the Idaho Vandals
Some numbers to know from this one:
- Score: Washington Huskies 53 vs. Idaho Vandals 3
- Margin of Victory: 50 points
- Coaches: Rick Neuheisel vs. Tom Cable
- Washington's leading passer: Cody Pickett (15-20, 158 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 131.4 rating)
- Washington's leading rusher: Rich Alexis (19 carries, 83 yards, 4.4 avg, 1 TD)
- Washington's final record: 8-4
- Washington's bowl destination: Holiday Bowl (lost to Texas 47-43)
Truly a remarkable performance all around and the Huskies were very clearly a much better team than the Idaho Vandals were 21 years ago. Though, that shouldn’t be too shocking.
How did the Huskies absolutely dominate this game?
So, why was this game so lopsided? Well… It’s largely because Idaho wasn’t that great that season. The Huskies, at 8-4, were pretty good, but not great. Something of a flawed team here and there. But Idaho?! The Vandals managed to go out and win just one game back in 2001. This is a 1-10 team that we’re talking about here.
Washington managed to get 22 first downs in this game while the Vandals only scraped up 14. And one reason that wasn’t even more notable in UW’s favor is because Washington was getting multiple big plays throughout this game.
I mean, Braxton Cleman averaged 15.3 yards per carry as he gained 61 yards on just four attempts. Reggie Williams snagged five receptions for a grand total of 77 yards. UW just flat out was the better team all across the board here.