It was fall training camp four years ago, and a series of unfolding events were certain to damage - if not doom - the University of Washington football team. The Huskies were investigated - and penalized - for providing illegal loans and employment for players. Head coach Don James resigned in protest of the penalties, and former Washington player and longtime assistant Jim Lambright took over the Huskies' reins at the start of the 1993 season. The incoming freshman recruiting class earned a C- grade from some analysts - and some players pondered the possibility of opting out of a progam changing coaches and headed for unpleasant consequences.The penalties were even stiffer than Washington staffers expected. The Pac-10 put the Huskies on two-year probation, during which they were banned from postseason play and forced to forfeit 20 scholarships. Suddenly, that recruiting class of '93 became even more important than ever.
The Huskies and their fans not only felt slighted, they considered themselves severely singled out. Some wore their hearts on their sleeves, other wore their rage on their chests in the form of T-shirts simply stating"Pac-9."
While the punishments weren't the death penalty, they were potentially paralyzing, even for a team that just two years before had shared the national championship. Would Washington's future be a fate share by other sanctioned programs - such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Christian - all of which are still struggling to recover?
All the Huskies have done since is advance through adversity with their heads held high. They went 7-4 the following season, concluding the 1994 regular season with a resounding upset of Miami in what coaches and players considered to be their "bowl game."
They've since showed the Pac-10 by winning 30 games overall - more than any other team in the conference - in the Lambright-led four seasons since. This year, they not only expect to claim the conference champion's Rose Bowl berth but contend for the national championship.
Leading the way are key '93 recruits - linebacker Jason Chorak, running back Rashaan Shehee, free safety Tony Parrish, wide receiver Fred Coleman and linebacker Jerry Jensen - who wondered four seasons ago if they were watching the start of a demise - of their dreams as well as of a college football powerhouse.
They're back, not trying to build from the ground up but upon a strong team last year and a No.4 AP ranking (No. 3 in USA Today/ESPN) at the start of this season. A number of preseason football publications and major metropolitan sports sections have tabbed the Huskies as the nation's best.
It's only the third time in 15 years that Washington has started the season ranked among the top five contenders.
In 1982, the Huskies opened at No. 2, moved to No. 1 the following week and then faltered, losing to Stanford in late October and to Washington State later in the season.
In 1991, Washington started at No. 4 before settling at No. 2, along with Miami, for much of the season. Miami later upset top-ranked Florida State, while Washington won the Rose Bowl and earned the No. 1 spot in the USA Today/CNN coaches poll, giving them a share of the national championship with Miami.
The following year, the Huskies opened at No. 2 and swapped back and forth with the No. 1 Miami before losing two of their final three games.
Washington has not only weathered "the sanction seasons" but has returned to the upper echelon of college football, right where it was at the start of the '90s.
The Huskies know that a 12-0 season - or no worse than an 11-1 record - is needed to qualify for national-championship consideration. Washington has the advantage of facing expected nemeses Nebraska, Southern Cal and Washingto State at home this season, with BYU perhaps the Huskies' biggest road obstacle.
While a victory Saturday against BYU (19th in AP, 17th in USA Today/ESPN) would result in some national acclaim, Washington is also aware a season-opening loss in Provo would be a higher degree more damaging. A loss to the seven-point underdog Y. could possibly drop the Huskies below the Cougars in the rankings - a plunge potentially so low they couldn't recover to challenge for the championship.