Oregon – Washington football rivalry The Oregon – Washington football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies of the Pacific - 12 Conference . The respective campuses in Eugene and Seattle are about apart , via Interstate 5 . Like many other adjacent state rivalries in college football , it is sometimes referred to as " The Border War . " The game , one of the most played rivalries in NCAA Division I FBS history , has been played regularly since 1900 . Series history . Although the schools began playing each other in 1900 , the rivalry became heated from Oregon ' s perspective in 1948 , when Oregon and California both went undefeated in the Pacific Coast Conference . California was undefeated overall , and Oregon ' s only loss was at undefeated Michigan , that year ' s national champions , and the Ducks had seven victories in the PCC to Cal ' s six . The winner of the PCC , as is today with the Pac - 12 , played in the Rose Bowl . Oregon , led by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and halfback John McKay , opted for a playoff game , but California declined . The tiebreaker format the PCC elected to use was that the championship team be elected by the schools . The PCC had ten member schools in 1948 , six in the Northwest and four in California , so it was assumed that Oregon would be the team playing in the 1949 Rose Bowl , as even a 5 - 5 tie vote would be in their favor . Instead California was voted champion of the PCC , because the University of Washington had persuaded the University of Montana , then a member of the PCC , to vote for California , something that has not been forgotten by Oregon fans . ( The PCC allowed a second bowl team that season and Oregon went to the Cotton Bowl , but lost 21 – 13 to hometown SMU in Dallas . California lost to twice - beaten Northwestern by six in the Rose . ) Within the last 60 years the rivalry has grown between the two fanbases . In 1962 , Larry Hill of Oregon was tackled by Washington fans who had rushed onto the field at Husky Stadium while he was trying to catch the tie - breaking touchdown on the game ' s final play . In 1995 , Washington head coach Jim Lambright unsuccessfully lobbied for the Huskies to be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl instead of the Ducks . " Seattle Post Intelligencer " columnist Bud Withers wrote that Lambright ' s actions " invited at least another half - century worth of bile from Oregon fans . " After winning four of six over Washington head coach Jim Lambright , the rivalry was given another boost in Oregon eyes when former Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel became Washington ' s head coach in 1999 . A few years earlier , at the 1996 Cotton Bowl between Oregon and Colorado , Neuheisel called for a fake punt while the Buffaloes led 32 – 6 with less than five minutes left . Oregon coach Mike Bellotti was also accused of turning Neuheisel in for recruiting during the dead period . Oregon went 1 – 2 against Washington under Neuheisel , and the rivalry grew even more when Neuheisel celebrated by taking photos and jumping up and down on the " O " in the middle of the field after a win at Autzen Stadium in 2002 . Two years earlier , the Ducks ' victory in 2000 in Eugene spoiled an otherwise undefeated season for the Huskies , who won the Rose Bowl and finished third in the nation . The teams did not meet in 2001 , the first break in the rivalry since the hiatus in 1943 and 1944 due to World War II . Through 2014 , Washington leads the series 58 – 44 – 5 . Huskies head coach Don James was 15 – 3 against Oregon from 1975 – 92 , but since he retired the Ducks have a 16 – 5 advantage . The first ten were split at five each , but since 2004 , the Ducks have won eleven consecutive , the longest run by either in the series . The closest margin during the current Oregon streak is 17 points in 2011 . The last time the victory margin was under ten points ( by either side ) was in 2000 , when the Ducks won by seven in the Huskies ' only loss of the season . Game results . Oregon victories are green < br >