Squinting through the first four games and into the fifth, the eyes kept looking for signs that would help explain that single-digit number that always precedes Oregon’s name in newspapers and on television.
While the Floridas, Miamis and Nebraskas of the college football world consistently put up scores expected from a top-10 bunch, the Ducks kept doing it the Ducks’ way. Which is fine, of course, as long as they continue to drench themselves with anti-inflammatory liquid before they start playing with the type of fire they’ve grown accustomed to.
One expected nothing different on a cool Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz., where the Wildcat fans and players entered Arizona Stadium brimming with confidence and smelling a potential upset.
But there was something different about this game from the get-go. It was raining. In Arizona. Soon, the Ducks would be reigning, too. Reigning as in 63-28, but more on that later.
The eyes first began to un-squint just a tad in the first quarter when Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington connected with tight end George Wrighster for a touchdown. Then, after a gutsy completion to Samie Parker on a third-and-17, Harrington lined up for a third-and-goal at the one-yard line. He took the snap, rolled right, faked an option pitch and then dove like a duck in a pond into the end zone.
But even with the score 14-0 for Oregon, the eyes didn’t let you see a potential blowout in the making. And sure enough, Arizona fired back with two clutch scoring drives, including one that benefited from a 78-yard burst by tailback Clarence Farmer. Just like that, it’s all tied up at 14 with more than 13 minutes to play in the first half.
Stop. Stop the play-by-play tape right there. There’s no need for it anymore.
Mark the time in the game: 13:38, second quarter.
Over the next 30 minutes of football, the Ducks were as good as they’ve ever been.
Over the next 30 minutes of football, the Ducks were as fluid as they’ve ever been.
And over the next 30 minutes of football, the Ducks were as top-10 as they’ve ever been.
The eyes stopped noticing statistical details and started noticing moments, situations, facial expressions, body movements and other’s reactions to Oregon’s play.

During those 30 minutes of football, the yardage of the scores, the recipients of the scores and the events that led up to those scores didn’t seem to matter. What was taking place during those minutes was that a team that had gotten tired of hearing how overrated they were just exploded.
For the first time all season, a squint wasn’t necessary to make out who was the top-10 team on the field. For the first time all season, the eyes were as wide open as could be and seeing what others had only talked about seeing for some time.
A Harrington two-yard touchdown run. A Parker 38-yard touchdown catch. A Justin Peelle 17-yard touchdown catch. A Maurice Morris one-yard touchdown run. An Onterrio Smith one-yard touchdown run. Another Harrington two-yard touchdown run. And another Smith two-yard touchdown run.
All unanswered points. All more crushing to Arizona than the previous one. All plays that deserve to be clumped together because they were a part of the 30-minute stretch where Oregon took a 14-14 game and made it 63-14 with 12:57 to play in the fourth.
Read that again: 63-14. This is an Oregon Ducks game. A Pacific-10 Conference contest on the road no less. The 63 points tied a school record for most points scored in a Pac-10 game.
The last time the Ducks scored that many points in a league game was on Sept. 26, 1998, when 20th-ranked Oregon, led by Akili Smith and Reuben Droughns, crushed Stanford, 63-28.
Now, here we are again, and the final score was identical. But will the teams be? The ’98 team was 4-0 after the big win and moved to 5-0 heading into a showdown at UCLA. Oregon lost a heartbreaker in overtime and would end up losing three more times that season, including to Colorado in the Aloha Bowl.
This 2001 version is now just the sixth Oregon team in school history to open the season at 5-0. It has a very winnable game on the road next weekend at California before a difficult back-to-back stretch against currently undefeated Stanford and Washington State.
But the mind is getting much too far ahead of itself. The eyes still want to comprehend what they saw. Harrington throw for three scores and rush for three more. Smith gain 131 yards with two scores with Morris picking up 110 yards with one score. And the Oregon defense, which forced five Arizona turnovers that the Ducks’ offense promptly turned into five touchdowns.
Come to think of it, the eyes aren’t even sure anymore if the Oregon team they saw on the field Saturday night was a top-10 team at all.
The eyes believe they might just belong in the elite company of Miami, Florida, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
The top five.