Preseason

Don James was inherited a veteran squad coming off a 5-6 season with most of the talent on the defensive side of the ball and they would be relied upon as the offense adjusted to running primarily from the I-formation

I formation

The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when contrasted with the same players' alignments in the T formation.The formation begins with...

. Fullback Robin Earl, who switched from tight end after four games last season, and center Ray Pinney would have to be the foundation for the change occurring on that side of the ball.

Schedule

Roster

• Al Burleson, db
• Robin Earl, fb
• Spider Gaines, wr
• Charles Jackson
• Dan Lloyd
• Warren Moon, qb
• Ray Pinney, c
• Scott Phillips
• Robbins, k
• Chris Rowland, qb

Washington State

Al Burleson returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown and Warren Moon connected with Spider Gaines for a 78-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left to complete the comeback victory in the Apple Cup.

Washington State had dominated the second half and appeared on their way to another score when Burleson picked off John Hopkins and raced down the left sideline to the end zone with less than three minutes remaining.

Coach Don James was surprised by the Cougars electing to pass instead of playing for the field goal, saying "Had they made the field goal it would have put the nail in the coffin."

Following a three-and-out on Washington State's next possession, the Huskies started from their own 22. On the first play, Moon threw into coverage and the ball deflected off Leon Garrett and into the hands of teammate Gaines, who went 40 yards to score.

Until then, the Cougars had controlled the game thanks to fullback Vaughn Williams and tailback Dan Doornik, who appeared unstoppable against the Washington defense.

Washington's first score came on a quarterback sneak by Chris Rowland from the one for a 7-3 lead.

The Huskies scored again before halftime on a 29-yard pass from Moon to Gaines, who had primarily been used as a punt blocker to that point.

Moon had started the season as the starting quarterback, only to be replaced by Rowland after the offense struggled in the first few games.

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yards	TD	INT
Chris Rowland	45	117	597	4	6
Warren Moon	48	122	587	2	22

_{Moon played in eight games, started six}

Rushing

Player	Att	Yards	TD
Robin Earl	167	782	1

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yards	TD
Scott Phillips	33	433	1

Awards

Al Burleson

• Honorable Mention All-American (AP, UPI)
• All Pac-8
• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. Navy, USC, Washington State)

Charles Jackson

• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. Oregon)

Dan Lloyd

• All Pac-8
• Pac-8 Player of Week (vs. UCLA)
• Guy Flaherty Award (most inspirational)

Ray Pinney

• Honorable Mention All-American (AP, UPI)
• All Pac-8