Three-Peat Complete
Rick Morgan
If indeed LaMicheal James declares for the NFL draft after this season he certainly left Oregon fans with a special memory in his last Autzen appearance. The junior tailback ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Ducks to a 49-31 win over UCLA in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game. With the victory Oregon claimed their third consecutive conference championship and will play in the 2012 Rose Bowl in Pasadena on January 2nd.
From start to finish, Oregon steamrolled the Bruins on the ground, rushing for 352 yards. Besides James, Kenjon Barner gained 79 on 16 carries and in addition to completing 20 of his 26 passes for three touchdowns, quarterback Darron Thomas legged out 60 yards and a score.
When Oregon wasn't running the football, Thomas was slicing up the Bruin secondary for 219 yards, completing passes to nine different receivers.
An early UCLA turnover gave the Ducks first blood. On the second play of the game, Bruin running back Johnathan Franklin put the ball on the turf and Oregon's Dewitt Stuckey pounced on it on the UCLA 39-yard line.
On third and six, Jame's first touch went for 5 yards. On fourth and one, his second touch went for 30 and a score, James bolting through a seam on the left leaving several Bruins flatfooted.
The blow-out everyone predicted appeared to be on. But give the embattled Bruins credit - at 6-6 on the year and with a lame duck coach, it would have been easy for the Southern division champions to head for the buses.
But in their final game with Rick Neuheisal as their coach, UCLA played with purpose and with pride although it was clear early on the Bruins weren't going to deny the Ducks their third consecutive BCS berth and second Rose Bowl appearance in three years.
UCLA knotted the score at seven when Patrick Larimore intercepted Darron Thomas' pass over the middle and slipped 35 yards down the left sideline for a pick-six.
Oregon answered quickly. Josh Huff took the kick-off back 28 yards, then caught a Thomas pass for 31 giving Oregon the ball on the Bruin ten. At the snap, Thomas and James headed right on the option and when the Bruin defense overextended Thomas cut inside for the score.
The Ducks stretched the lead to 21-7 when Thomas found TE Colt Lyerla wide open over the middle for a seven yard touchdown.
With nothing to lose, Neuheisal called a little trickeration on UCLA's next possession. Kevin Prince's 37-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass to Nelson Rosario narrowed the Oregon advantage to 21-14 early in the second quarter.
It was James who finished off the 10-play, 73-yard scoring drive that pushed Oregon's lead back to two touchdowns. Thomas connected with TE David Paulson for 20 yards to get the Ducks to mid-field and James got them to the doorstep with a 25-yard dash through the right side of the UCLA defense. One play later he took Thomas' handoff three yards for the score.
The Ducks quickly converted a second Bruin fumble to increase their lead to 35-14. DT Terrell Turner smothered Derrick Coleman's mishandled reverse at the UCLA 17. An unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the Ducks back to the Bruin 32, and two plays later Thomas found Daryle Hawkins in the flat for a 25 yard pitch and catch.
UCLA kicked a field goal before the half and when Kevin Prince dove over from the one early in the third quarter, the Bruins were back within 11 points, 35-24.
But that was as close as the Bruins would get. James scored from the five on Oregon's next possession and after forcing the Bruins to punt, Thomas connected with TE David Paulson for 22-yards and a score to put the game out of reach.
Nelson Rosario pulled down a nifty one-handed catch for a 19-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter but by then the long stemmed roses were out and the confetti cannons loaded for the post game celebration.
"That's something to be proud of," said Kelly of winning Oregon's third straight conference crown. "It's about living in the moment and being a part of this group, and I'm really, really proud about what this group accomplished . They just kept their eye on the prize and nothing will knock them down."
Thomas and James both put exclamation points on record breaking seasons. Thomas three touchdown passes moved him past Danny O'Neill to the top of Oregon's program list with a total of 63.
"I've got a lot more to go," Thomas, a junior, said. "(I'm) happy to be on the list with a lot of good Oregon quarterbacks, great Oregon quarterbacks."
"Darron is awesome," said Kelly. "I don't want anybody else to run this football team. He's a special player."
James now sits third on the all time conference rushing yards list and second on the all-time rushing touchdown list. Oregon fans serenaded James with chants of "one more year" as he was handed the Most Valuable Player trophy for the championship game.
"It means a lot," said James of the success of his team and of the fan response. "Reach for the sky.
"I'm blessed to be part of a team like this. That's what I think about, those guys. I don't think about one more year; I just think about the next day."
"I think our president (Richard Lariviere) said it once, and I truly believe this, this university is about unique excellence," Kelly said. "That's what this young man (James) is about. He's about unique excellence."
Oregon will face either Wisconsin or Michigan State in the Rose Bowl on January 2.
