Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. ó LaMichael James ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns and No. 8 Oregon beat UCLA 49-31 in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game Friday night for the Ducks’ third straight conference title and a likely berth in the Rose Bowl.
Rick Neuheisel tipped his hat to the UCLA fans in his last game as coach. The former Bruins quarterback was fired this week after four seasons with his alma mater.
While the Bruins (6-7) played with passion for their outgoing coach and kept it closer than many thought they would, it was not enough to overcome the Ducks (11-2), who head to a BCS bowl for the third straight season.
Darron Thomas threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, becoming Oregon’s career leader with 63 TD passes.
Northern Illinois 23, Ohio 20
DETROIT ó Chandler Harnish helped Northern Illinois finish on the winning side of this fourth-quarter comeback.
Harnish threw two of his three touchdown passes in the final period, and Mathew Sims kicked a 33-yard field goal on the final play to cap a furious rally that gave the Huskies a 23-20 victory over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference title game Friday night.
Northern Illinois trailed 20-0 at halftime, but by the end of the night, the Huskies were celebrating their first MAC championship since 1983.
ěI said yesterday that this is where the senior class was going to leave its legacy, but I was terrible in the first half,î Harnish said. ěI didnít want to go out like that.î
It was a delightful turnabout for Northern Illinois, which lost in the 2010 and 2005 MAC title games on last-minute touchdowns by Miami of Ohio and Akron. Last yearís defeat was particularly cruel. Miami converted on fourth-and-20 before scoring the winning touchdown.
ěWhat happened last year? Iím not thinking about that anymore,î Harnish said. ěThe only history that matters now is what we made today.î
Ohio hasnít won a MAC title since 1968, but the Bobcats are still one of six teams from the conference that are bowl eligible. The league has primary agreements with the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, the GoDaddy.com Bowl and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Ohio (9-4) led 20-7 in the fourth quarter.