But on Washington's first play, Huard tried to take a shot deep downfield but was intercepted by defensive back Adesola Moronkola, foreshadowing the day to come for the Husky quarterback.
As the first quarter ended, the Cougars were in the process of taking advantage of the turnover with a 14-play drive of their own, this one covering 73 yards and ending with a Michael Black 8-yard touchdown run that tied the game at seven.
On the third play of the Huskies' ensuing possession, Huard once again tried to go deep only to find the same result as he was picked off for a second time, this time by Ray Jackson, giving WSU the ball at its own 30.
Three plays gained 13 yards, and the Cougar offense was faced with a third-and-13 at its own 43-yard line, thus setting the stage for one of the most memorable plays in WSU football history.
"That was an audible by Leaf," Chris Jackson said of a play that will forever be remembered by Cougar fans. "He looked over to his left and one of their defensive backs came up and pressed me at the line of scrimmage. Leaf just kind of gave me a look and made an audible.
"I knew I was going to run a quick little fade route and Leaf put the ball up," Jackson continued. "After I caught the ball I was able to get by the first defender (Toure Butler)."
But Washington free safety Tony Parrish had his sights set on Jackson, whose performance in the game would be under great scrutiny after his "bulletin board material" comments made earlier in the week.
"He was always the headhunter throughout his college career," Jackson said of Parrish. "I wasn't going to shy away and I just said to myself that I'm a bigger receiver, I'm just going to put all my weight down, put my head down, and I did it.
"All of a sudden, next thing I know, he was on his back," Jackson continued. "I was pulling my leg away from his arm and running it in for the remaining yards."
As fast as Jackson reached the end zone, he was just as quickly mobbed by his teammates and even Butch, the Cougar mascot.
"When Chris Jackson made that unbelievable catch on the sidelines, it just showed how the game was going to go that day," Jason McEndoo said.
Jackson's scintillating 57-yard touchdown reception gave WSU a 14-7 lead. Trailing for the first time in the game, the Huskies responded by driving to the Cougars' 22-yard line but Huard's third interception of the half, this one by Lamont Thompson, ended that threat.
Once again, the Cougars took advantage of the turnover and once again, used another 14-play drive to do so. Rian Lindell's 20-yard field goal capped a 17-point second quarter for the Cougars, who went into the half with a 17-7 advantage.
Huard started the second half as he ended the first, with an interception by Thompson. Thompson's second pick of the day was made possible when the ball went through the hands of Pathon. WSU capitalized on the Huskies' fourth turnover of the day, with the aid of a little luck.
On a second-and-goal from the three, Black fumbled at the two, but he the ball went forward into the end zone where offensive lineman Rob Rainville recovered, and WSU's advantage was extended to 24-7.
The Cougars were flagged for a personal foul on the extra point try, which was assessed on the kickoff. That set Washington up with good field position when Pathon returned the kick to Washington's 46-yard line. It took UW only four plays to score when Huard connected with Fred Coleman from 38-yards out to close to within 10 at 24-14.
Washington's deficit soon was reduced to three when, just three minutes later, Parrish read Leaf perfectly, intercepted his pass in the middle of the field and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.
Suddenly, what had been a 17-point lead was trimmed to just a margin of a field goal. The capacity crowd, which had been muted for most of the game, was back into it.
Momentum was squarely in the Huskies favor; however, throughout the 1997 season, each time the Cougars were threatened, they answered. Whether it was against UCLA, USC, Illinois, Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, or Stanford, the team found a way to respond when challenged.
"Every time they did something, we answered," Mike Levenseller said. "Ryan had that ability to put the team on his shoulders. It didn't matter what the circumstances were.
The Cougars' offense response to this adverse situation proved to be no different.
Starting their next possession at their own 20, Leaf connected with Kevin McKenzie for 18 yards on a third-and-nine. Two plays later, the Leaf-Jackson combination came through on another big play. Leaf's pass flew just over Husky cornerback Mel Miller and into the hands of Jackson, who raced down the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown that extended WSU's lead to 31-21.
But Washington's offense had found its rhythm, and Huard hit Mike Reed for a 17-yard score to pull within three for a second time at 31-28 with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, the Cougars were clinging to a tenuous three-point lead; either they were 15 minutes away from a historic victory or 15 minutes away from a devastating disappointment.
The Cougar offense made sure it would be the former. On the ensuing drive's first play, Leaf connected with Jackson for 14 yards, and that was immediately followed by a 37-yard run by Black, who finished the day with 170 yards on 37 carries. The eight-play, 66-yard drive was capped when, on a third-and-goal from the one, Leaf tried to sneak it in, and avoided disaster when he recovered his own fumble to score.
"It was exactly what we had done all year long," Leaf said. "Every time we were down in the hole we would push back through and got to the point where either it was win and go to the Rose Bowl or lose and don't."
This time Washington was unable to answer. A holding call negated a Huard to Pathon 22-yard connection that would have converted a third-and-12, and UW was forced to punt.
WSU's lead grew to 13 points on a Lindell field goal ending a 12-play, 62-yard drive. Just as importantly, it ate up 5:42 of the clock.
In addition, the score increased WSU's point total to 41; therefore fulfilling Jackson's Sunday prediction of the Cougars putting up 40 points on the Huskies.
