EUGENE —

‘The Pick” happened 20 years ago, but it might as well have been 100 years ago.

Many of the players on the field Saturday at Autzen Stadium had yet to be born when Kenny Wheaton jumped the route on a Damon Huard pass to intercept the ball and return it 97 yards for a touchdown and a 31-20 Oregon victory over Washington in 1994.

But more importantly, the Huskies just have not given the Ducks a challenge in the past 11 years of this bitter Northwest rivalry.

Oregon increased its win streak to 11 straight over Washington with a 45-20 beatdown of the Huskies on Saturday.

The Ducks’ average margin of victory during that streak is 25, the closest game a 34-17 Oregon victory in 2011.

The legendary play by Wheaton, who served as the grand marshal of Oregon’s homecoming parade Saturday, marks a turning point in Oregon football history, the beginning of the Ducks’ rise to dominance and the end of the Huskies’ reign.

But it has been so long since Oregon-Washington has been even somewhat competitive, that Wheaton’s interception return — which is shown on the big screen before each Duck home game — seems like ancient history.

Perhaps the most enthralling part of Saturday’s game was minutes before kickoff, when Wheaton rode on the back of a motorcycle that sped across the turf in the same route in which he returned the interception in 1994.

“It’s special; that was a historic play for the program,” Oregon wide receiver Byron Marshall said of Wheaton’s interception.

But there was no need for late-game heroics from the No. 9 Ducks (6-1) on Saturday. Even against a Washington team that came in 5-1 and looked like a serious threat, Oregon looked much the same as it did against UCLA the week before — almost unbeatable.

The Ducks’ much maligned defense again came to play, moving fast to the ball and missing very few tackles.

“The defensive side played one of their most complete games,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. “The defense is playing with more understanding and more belief. All those guys understand their roles — identifying things and playing fast. They’ve all made great strides.”

The offense was vintage Oregon, as the Ducks scored fast and often. Mariota was once again brilliant. His last-second pitch to Royce Freeman for a 3-yard touchdown as he was being tackled early in the second quarter is the type of play only he can make.

Other playmakers stepped up, too, including Freeman, who was a beast, rushing for 169 yards and four touchdowns while breaking tackle after tackle.

“We saw some of his elusiveness that was legendary in fall camp,” Helfrich said. “He’s starting to play free of thought and let his natural gifts take over.”

Freeman said that the Oregon offense is improving every week, and he certainly looked pretty unstoppable.

“The way we’ve been practicing, with the urge and desire not to be tackled, we’re trying to break every run and not go down,” Freeman said.

Since the loss to Arizona on Oct. 2, that’s two consecutive games the Ducks have looked like a team that can get back into the hunt for the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.

Sure, they need some help from a few undefeated teams who must lose, and their schedule is not exactly a piece of cake, but whose is in the 2014 Pac-12?

Stanford’s visit to Autzen on Nov. 1 looms large, as the Ducks look for revenge after losing to the Cardinal the last two seasons. But Oregon cannot overlook its trip to Cal next Friday, as every game in this strong Pac-12 could be a dog fight.

But the Dawgs put up little fight Saturday, and their long-ago dominance over Oregon is but a distant memory.

Still, the rivalry remains.

“U-Dub hates us,” Marshall said. “And we hate U-Dub.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmorical@bendbulletin.com.