[1] The Huskies were ranked #20 in the 1990 pre-season,[4] and started slowly with close wins over San José State at home and at Purdue.

In the third game, #5 USC, in pursuit of a fourth straight Rose Bowl, entered Husky Stadium as a five-point favorite with a four-game winning streak over UW,[5] but was shut out 31–0 on a hot afternoon on the Seattle AstroTurf.

The UW Dawgs regrouped and rolled through the next five games, all in conference and by large margins, and climbed to 8–1 record;[9] they clinched the league title and Rose Bowl berth on November 3 after a 54–10 drubbing of #23 Arizona.

The game went back and forth, and was tied at 22 until a late field goal by UCLA ended UW's national title hopes.

[14][15] The Huskies took their frustration at the loss and their drop in ranking to #10 by crushing Washington State in Pullman to win the Apple Cup 55–10.

They did not play Oregon State, who finished last in the Pac-10 at 1–10 overall (1–7 in conference) and fired sixth-year head coach Dave Kragthorpe.