Inside The Huskies

Fisch Calls For Big Saturday Turnout For Ohio State Game

The Husky coach wants the fans to exceed the stadium capacity and make some noise.
Dan Raley|
Husky Stadium is shown at full capacity for the national anthem.
Husky Stadium is shown at full capacity for the national anthem. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Chances are, if you want to attend Saturday's Washington-Ohio State football game, coach Jedd Fisch sounds as if he will plenty of room for anyone on the Husky bench if stadium seats aren't readily available elsewhere.

On Monday, the UW football leader made an impassioned plea for people to fill up Husky Stadium to the brim and more as his team hosts the No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Buckeyes in the Big Ten Conference opener for both sides.

Players will be wearing all purple. Fans are encouraged to show up with their game-face on and all of their family members in tow. The coach understands he needs all the help he can get in taking on the Midwest powerhouse. Already, the game has been ruled a sellout.

"We're excited for what should be an amazing atmosphere here," Fisch said. "Purple Reign game. Purple out. We'll see how much purple we can fill. Whatever the capacity is, hopefully we'll go over it. I probably just got in trouble."

Actually, he won't be admonished for making that request. Over the limit attendance numbers have been wholeheartedly encouraged since the second deck was installed in 1987 and again following the major stadium remodel unveiled in 2013.

Capacity currently lists at 70,138 and the Huskies have exceeded that 95 times over four decades, topped by a 76,125 gathering that showed up for the 1995 Washington-Army game that came with a military appreciation theme.

A few extra eyeballs on a showdown such as this one and the resulting din that comes with it has never hurt anyone in Montlake: The UW boasts a 72-22-1 record when squeezing extra bodies inside on game day.

Ohio State has twice visited Husky Stadium since it went to a double deck arrangement and has played in front of a crowd of 70,081 and lost 25-16 in 1994 and dealt with a 74,927 turnout and won 33-14 in 2007. The latter was the third largest home crowd in UW annals.

Of course, the Buckeyes never get stage fright: their stadium seats 102,780, making it one of the largest in the country.

The Huskies have drawn 14 crowds of 74,000 or more, with the Apple Cup and Washington State responsible for five of them. The UW has an 8-5-1 record in those epic gatherings. Besides Ohio State and the Cougars, the other biggest draws have been Arizona State, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon and USC.

"We want to pack that place," Fisch said. "We want to have as many thousands and thousands of people as we can."

The coach implored everyone to be in their seats by noon on Saturday, which is a half hour before kickoff.

Who knows, fans might already be lining up to get into the stadium, sleeping in the light-rail station and gargling to make sure their voices are at optimum levels.

BIGGEST HUSKY STADIUM CROWDS

1995, Army, 76,125

UW won 21-13

1997, Arizona State, 74,986

UW won 26-14

2007, Ohio State, 74,927

Ohio State won 33-14

2003, WSU, 74,549

UW won 27-19

2001, WSU, 74,492

UW won 26-14

1995, USC, 74,421

Game ended in 21-21 tie

1997, WSU, 74,268

WSU won 41-35

2000, Miami, 74,157

UW won 34-29

1995, WSU, 74,144

UW won 33-30

2001, Michigan, 74,080

UW won 23-18

1995, Oregon, 74,054

Oregon won 24-22

1987, WSU, 74,038

UW won 34-19

1997, Nebraska, 74,023

Nebraska won 27-14

1995, Notre Dame, 74,023

Notre Dame won 29-21

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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