The Huskies are back on the road this week and down in Berkley, CA to face the California Golden Bears. While Washington is 0-2 while not playing on Montlake, they control the head-to-head match-up over Cal with a 55-41-4 winning record.

With 100 games being played between these two programs, there have been quite a few memorable ones. Recently, the competition between these two teams have been referred to as a “battle of the better culture,” which is why these games below fall under the category as most memorable.

3. 2016 Washington Wins 66-27

The undefeated Huskies came into this game offended and angry after being ranked No. 5 in the first initial CFP rankings behind a one-loss Texas A&M. Sophomore Jake Browning threw for 378 yards and six touchdowns to set Washington’s single-season record for TD passes as well as most touchdowns thrown in a game. This had Washington off to its best start since going 12-0 and winning a share of the national title in 1991. The game wasn’t always out of reach for Cal as the Golden Bears cut the deficit to 21-20 midway through the second quarter. The Huskies finally pulled away after 38 straight points. Cal also tied their school record for points allowed in a game, matching the 66-0 loss to Alabama in 1973.

2. 2002 California wins 32-27

California came into Seattle and had a historic day for the Golden Bears program snapping the longest win streak between these two programs with Washington having 19 consecutive wins that lasted from 1977 through 2001. Cal quarterback Kyle Boller had himself a historic day, throwing for 266 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. To pour more salt on Washington’s wound, this also ended a 17-game homefield winning streak by the Huskies. Boller completed 13 of 24 passes without an interception, compared to the UW’s QB, Cody Pickett, who was also the nation’s No. 2 passer. Pickett finished with 35 completions on 59 attempts for 399 yards and two interceptions. Boller moved into fourth place on Cal’s career passing records with 6,643 yards after that game and he became only the third quarterback to throw for five TDs against the Huskies. What makes this story come full circle with younger UW fans who may not remember nor experienced this game, Bob Gregory, former Washington LB/ST coach, DC, and interim HC, was the defensive coordinator for the Golden Bears.

1. 2019 California wins 20-19

This may be one of the most talked about games still that Washington lost, and California won in recent years. This was a Golden Bears team that upset a highly ranked Chris Petersen team in back-to-back years, handing Washington their first home loss since No. 20 USC came to Montlake for College Gameday in 2016. California came in as an unranked two-touchdown underdog against a No. 14 Husky team coming off of another Pac-12 Conference Championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl the season prior. With 2:05 left in the game, the UW took a 19-17 lead when Peyton Henry hit a career-best 49-yard field goal that sneaked inside the right upright before Cal drove the length of the field and Greg Thomas kicked a 17-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give California the victory. What makes it the most memorable game of all time, maybe even in the top five in Husky history was the lightning delay that lasted longer than 2 ½ hours that occurred less than 15 minutes after kickoff. Fans were evacuated from their seats, the concourse flooded, and the stadium lost power. 60,000 people filled the stadium at 7:30pm Saturday evening and about 16,000 or so walked out shocked at 1:22am Sunday morning.