The 1961 game came to pass because Denver dropped football after the 1960 season, leaving WSU and USU with an open date in '61. Denver's last win in 1960 was a big upset of WSU in Denver, then they lost the rest of their games that year as I remember.

WSU was coached by Jim "Suds" Sutherland who really should get the credit for installing the "pass most of the time" offense long before my cousin did so at Lavelle at byu. Sutherland's teams were explosive on offense, but often weak on the defensive side. Against Stanford, one year, WSU was training 0-18 with about 4 minutes to go and won the game in Palo Alto 21-18, scoring three TDS in about three minutes.

USU coach John Ralston was scared of this game, his first "big one" and ducked out of his usual SLC booster's gathering the week before to "dictate defenses", or so the story was told. I understand that he was throwing up all week.

I had graduated from WSU that spring and was practicing in SLC. Friday afternoon I headed to Logan, picked up my fiancée, her brother and sister and their spouses and we headed for Spokane about 4:00 PM, driving all night and reaching the Lilac city in the early morning hours. We got a few hours sleep at the Ridpath hotel and headed for Albi Stadium for the afternoon game. In those days WSU always played the huskies in Spokane and, typically one other game. The stadium on campus was much smaller and the huskies refused to play in Pullman.

WSU managed an early lead with two long passes but USU, throwing nothing be vicious blocks and tackles, wore the crimson cougs down as the game proceeded, ultimately winning 34-14. USU had the heaviest football line in the country that year, including all NFL: lines. One starting guard for WSU, Bill Berry, was all of 165 - a tough guy and good athlete, but.......

After the game, a WSU player said, "If we hit them low, they just pushed up into the ground and went over the top; if we hit them high, they just bowled us over."

Assistant coach Tony Knap noted that WSU defensive was of the "read"-type with the defensive line keying on the offensive guards for a clue as to where the play was going. Tony designed a play in which the USU guards both moved laterally to the side of the end at the same time leaving a large hole up the middle. Aggies ran that play four times and averaged 10 yards per play.

A night at the Ridpath and all the way home on Sunday, leaving the series 2-1 for WSU and looking forward to another game in 60 years.

Bob,

Thanks for the history on the USU-WSU game. This game should be played way more often than it has been. There is a lot of similarities between the two schools.

Here's a link to watch that 1961 game.

Thank you Bob for the broadened background on this very big game for our AGGIES. Many fumbles in that game and likely due to the intense contact displayed. This was the beginning of a very big year for Utah State Football. Nostalgia.

Names and numbers of any Aggie players in that film please? TIA

That was a hard hitting game. I had a headache after watching it.

newhouse9 wrote: ↑

August 23rd, 2021, 3:36 pm

That was a hard hitting game. I had a headache after watching it.

with loads of broken ankles

Indeed. Those boys were freaking tough!