As much as Oregon might act like college football didn’t exist before 2000, or Washington might like to ignore a 12-year time period from 2003 to 2015, the fact is
Before Michael Penix Jr. ever took a snap, stepped away from a pass rusher or connected with one of his wide receivers, his teammates had already staked No. 8 Washington to a two touchdown lead. Rome Odunze scored on an 83-yard punt return and a 35-yard reception in the first half, Edefuan Ulofoshio returned an interception 45 yards for a score on the first possession of the game, and Washington scored 45 first-half points on its way to a 59-32 win over California on Saturday night. Washington led 14-0 before Penix ever saw the field.
Go back more than 100 years and two names have always been associated with football on the West Coast as members of the same conference. Washington and California.