Washington entered the 1997 season ranked fourth in the AP poll and won the first two games handily (over BYU and San Diego State). In the third game, eventual national champion Nebraska beat Washington in Husky Stadium; Huard suffered an ankle injury early in the game, the first downtime in a career that was henceforth injury-riddled. In addition, it forced true freshman Marques Tuiasosopo into action and he had to forego his redshirt season. Huard missed more time in 1997 due to injury and the potential national championship year ended with a disappointing 7-4 regular season, concluding with a 41–35 loss in Husky Stadium in the Apple Cup to Pac-10 champion Washington State. Though Huard was seen as a highly-rated prospect for the 1998 NFL Draft, he elected to return for his junior year.