It hadn’t happened in 45 years.

Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Muhammad Ali was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world when the Washington football team shut out Washington State in the 1964 Apple Cup, the last time the Huskies had done so in the series.

Even though WSU doesn’t exactly have an all-star offensive unit, Saturday’s 30-0 blanking of the Cougars was a testament to a determined Husky defensive performance. The Huskies held WSU to just 163 yards of total offense and never let the Cougars inside the Huskies’ 33-yard line.

The defense was good, not only in the first three quarters, but throughout the fourth quarter as well. When they could have told themselves that the game was all but over, the Husky defense maintained the same intensity that was apparent through the first three quarters.

“There was just a lot of pride,” said linebacker Mason Foster, who led the team with 10 tackles and an interception. “We can’t go to a bowl game, but we still have a lot to play for. We got to show the country and show everyone else what we can do and how we’re going to finish the season out.”

Nick Holt, the defensive coordinator, didn’t see anyone that stood out Saturday, but rather said it was a group effort. His defense forced seven punts and had five sacks in perhaps its best performance of the season.

“I think just the whole group effort was good. We gang tackled really well,” Holt said. “I think it was just an overall effort. There weren’t a lot of missed tackles and that’s what I’m most pleased with. It was a nice, clean, hard-hitting game, and I think we can build on that.”

Stopping Dwight Tardy and the WSU running game was priority No. 1 for the defense. Tardy had a few decent runs, but for the majority of the game, the UW shut him down. He only picked up 37 yards on the ground and averaged 2.6 yards per carry.

“We really respected [Tardy], and we thought going in that he was a good football player,” Holt said. “When it came down to do it, we had to stop the run, which we did for the most part.”

MIXED SIGNALS

Husky fans may have noticed an odd pre-play routine by WSU. On nearly every play, the Cougar offense would line up, get a look at the Husky defensive scheme, and then look back toward the coaches for adjustments. The Huskies ended up using it to their advantage by disguising the defense on the first impression.

“I thought our guys did a really good job of disguising and trying to hold our looks,” Holt said. “I don’t know if it confused them or not, but I think the safeties particularly and the outside backers did a good job with their disguises.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.