Midwest Marvel: In 1971, Sixkiller Ignited 42-0 Second-Half Outburst at Illinois

After three Husky Stadium games in 1971, the Sonny Sixkiller Carnival Show took to the road, stopping in the Midwest to put one of the nation's most explosive offenses on display.

For a half against Illinois, the Washington football team and its cadre of pass-minded quarterbacks, led by the great Sixkiller, was never better.

This, of course, came following 30 minutes of ineptitude, which always made things much more fun. You never knew when things were going to explode with this group.

The 3-0 Huskies, 10th-ranked in the United Press International poll and 15th in the Associated Press poll, ran into three obstacles on a Saturday afternoon in October.

The searing heat, that topped out at 86 degrees.

A grass football field in Champaign, Illinois, purposely left uncut during the week to slow down the Sixkiller attack.

And overconfidence. The Huskies tried hard not to look ahead to another Rose Bowl showdown with Stanford while dealing with an 0-3 Illini team that hadn't scored yet that season.

Coach Jim Owens, concerned over a lackadaisical Thursday practice before leaving Seattle, lectured his team about a letdown, one that was evident for a half.

"We won, that's the important thing," said Sixkiller, rescuing the Huskies from a 14-10 halftime deficit and turning the intersectional matchup into a scorching 52-14 romp.

In what was considered an average performance for him, Sixkiller completed 14 of 27 passes for 180 yards and second-half touchdown passes from 34 yards out to wide receiver Jim Krieg and 31 yards to tight end John Brady.

Illinois, the Huskies' second Big Ten opponent in three weeks, found itself under continuous assault after intermission in getting outscored 42-0.

Even when clearly average in execution for him, the flashy quarterback from Seattle appeared overly impressive to his first-time witnesses.

"Sixkiller's got a great many things going for him," Illini coach Bob Blackmon said. "He's got unbelievable peripheral vision, a very quick release, a great sense of anticipation, outstanding receivers and outstanding leadership qualities. He's a great one."

In the first half, the Husky quarterback simply tried to get a handle on his course management. It was an intermittent problem for him and a drawback that came a side effect for this wide-open attack. He got a little sloppy trying to do too much.

With 12 seconds remaining in the first half and the UW leading 10-7, Sixkiller took the snap on second-and-goal from the 1. He got only a few steps when Illinois defensive end Bob Bucklin blindsided the him just as he let go of a pass aimed for Brady in the end zone.

The ball fluttered into the hands of Illini cornerback Willie Osley, who grabbed it on his shoe tops and raced 98 yards unheeded for a half-ending touchdown.

Sixkiller's mistakes usually were mercurial. This was one of three pick-sixes he served up in 1971, one of four in his UW career.

The week before, he was intercepted by TCU's Lyle Blackwood, a future Seattle Seahawks safety who returned the ball 83 yards without scoring.

"I felt him grab the other arm, but I felt I could still get the ball to the receiver," Sixkiller said of Illinois goal-line hit at Illinois. "I would do the same thing again, except I would do it better -- no interception."

Sixkiller put the Huskies ahead for good at 17-14 when he drilled a TD pass to Krieg. He had things really rolling when he found Brady for a score and a 31-14 advantage. He made do without Tom Scott, his favorite target, who played but didn't catch a pass while dealing with a hand injury.

As the points piled up, the popular quarterback would turn over the UW offense in the third quarter to backup Greg Collins, who handed the team in the fourth quarter to former starter Gene Willis, who threw a final TD pass. Once unleashed, the Huskies came at Illinois in waves.

"We were feeling good after the game," Sixkiller said after further spreading his legend to the rest of the country. "But I've still never seen grass that high before."

He and the Huskies -- 4-0 for the first time since the UW's 1959 Rose Bowl team -- didn't need to ask for any lawn mowers to clean things up. They were now headed home to the Astroturf and an unbeaten showdown against Stanford.