It was a record-setting night filled with plenty of Pac-12 flash as Darron Thomas and LaMichael James accounted for seven touchdowns while leading No. 9 Oregon to a 49-31 victory over UCLA in the inaugural conference championship game Friday night at Autzen Stadium.
With the win, the Ducks (11-2, 8-1 Pac-12) clinched their third straight Bowl Championship Series bowl berth and will return to Pasadena, Calif., to play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. Oregon’s will face the winner of Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game between No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 13 Michigan State.
Oregon is still searching for its first BCS bowl victory under the direction of third-year head coach Chip Kelly, with loses in the 2009 Rose Bowl and last year’s National title game still looming for may Duck fans. A third straight conference title means a lot, Kelly said, but he’s more concerned with his team at the present.
“I don’t really think that way, about what we’ve accomplished before,” Kelly said. “It’s more about living in the moment and being with this group, and I’m really, really proud of what this group has accomplished.”

As usual, the Ducks overcame a sluggish start offensively — including a pair of early turnovers in Oregon territory — to jump out to a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. UCLA linebacker Patrick Larimore scored the Bruins’ lone touchdown of the quarter when he intercepted a Thomas pass and returned it 35 yards to the end zone.
The Ducks played the majority of the game without their electric freshman De’Anthony Thomas, who left the game with an apparent head injury after taking a hard shot on his second carry of the game.
“De’Anthony is one of the big time players on our team,” Darron Thomas said. “He did a great job on the sideline keeping guys up. It’s not about one guy going down and we’re gonna be done. We played through the end, we played for De’Anthony all game.”
A flea-flicker pass from UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince to wide receiver Nelson Rosario went 37 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter to bring the score to 21-14. Prince finished 13-of-26 for 162 yards and two touchdowns, both to Rosario.
On James’ second rushing touchdown of the night — a three-yard run on Oregon’s ensuing possession — he surpassed former USC running back Marcus Allen to move into third place on the Pac-12 career rushing list.
The Texarkana, Texas, native finished with 219 yards and three touchdowns en route to becoming the first player in conference history with three seasons of 1,500 yards rushing. His 19 touchdowns this season trails only his own school record of 24 scores set last year.
James was named the game’s most valuable player, and as he received the award after the game, a jam-packed crowd began to chant, ‘One more year! One more year!’ Whether James will return for his senior season won’t be known until a few months from now, but until then, he appreciated the gesture.
“I love the fans,” James said. “They support me through thick and thin — always. The most important thing to me is my teammates. Those guys are always supporting me.”
On Oregon’s final touchdown of the first half, a 25-yard catch-and-run by Daryle Hawkins, Thomas tied former Oregon quarterback Danny O’Neil (1991-94) for the most touchdown passes in a career (62). He moved into first place with his third touchdown pass of the night, a 22-yard strike to David Paulson with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
“I’m very excited that I could get to it,” said Thomas, who finished 20-of-36 for 219 yards and three touchdowns. “Happy to be on a list with a lot of good Oregon quarterbacks, great Oregon quarterbacks at that.”