Ducks sprint past Bruins, 49-31

EUGENE, ORE. -

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said throughout the week that the Bruins were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle against No. 8 Oregon.

They saw lightning alright.

They just couldn't catch it.

Yellow bursts of light in the familiar green jerseys, the pronounced jersey numbers almost glowing as they flashed right by, all the way into the end zone.

The Bruins could not bottle up a scary-fast Duck offense, and Oregon ran all the way to the Rose Bowl by way of a 49-31 victory in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game at Autzen Stadium.

"Oh, man it's tough," said sophomore linebacker Jordan Zumwalt, who had eight tackles. "There were a couple of times I didn't even have time to look at the down and distance. Coaches did a good job getting the plays in, but that tempo is so fast.
"Tempo is definitely their best weapon."

LaMichael James isn't too shabby in the holster, though. Neither is Darron Thomas.

James had 219 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 25 attempts and added two receptions for 24 yards while Thomas completed 20-of-36 attempts for 219 yards and three scores, completing passes to nine different Ducks.

With an offensive scheme more relentless than a wildfire in high wind, Oregon caught UCLA off-guard and continued to pounce, hitting seven plays of more than 15 yards in just the first half.

"I don't think we had problems in terms of how we executed procedure," linebackers coach Clark Lea said. "But when you get fatigued, you get misaligned, and we were caught a couple times. When we got lined up, good things happened."

UCLA was able to keep up with Oregon on occasion, but the Ducks forced an offense that needed to be flawless into numerous flubs.

The Bruins committed four turnovers, including a pair of fumbles by running back Johnathan Franklin, and the Ducks capitalized, scoring 21 points off the miscues.

"That is a team that is not going to make a lot of mistakes," junior offensive lineman Jeff Baca said. "Offensively, we felt we had to come out and score on every drive. If we did, it would've been a different story."

UCLA proved how crucial takeaways could be midway through the first quarter, when junior linebacker Patrick Larimore snagged a Thomas pass that bounced off Oregon running back Kenjon Barner and returned it 35 yards for the score to tie the game at seven.

But back came the Ducks, scoring on four of their next five possessions to distance themselves from the Bruins.

"You take away the turnovers - the things that make a good team into a great team like Oregon - and we win the game," said junior tight end Joseph Fauria, who had four receptions for 50 yards. "That feels like it was the case the whole year. But that's what makes the difference. It's tough to swallow."

Oregon had little problem swallowing up the UCLA running game, particularly on fourth down.

Trailing 7-0 with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter, running back Derrick Coleman was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 attempt at the Oregon 23-yard line. Late in the third quarter, Franklin was jammed up on a 4th-and-1 at the Oregon 46.

"They are stout up front," said UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, who coached his last game for his alma mater after his firing on Monday. "We felt like we had good plans as to how to go about getting 4th-and-ones, and unfortunately we ended up on the short end of the stick a couple of times."

Despite falling short, UCLA did not waver in its resolve, however, reversing a pattern that has doomed the Bruins throughout a topsy-turvy season. With Oregon a 31-point favorite heading into the game, UCLA could've caved, but it did not, unrelenting until the end, including the game's last score, a 19-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kevin Prince to senior wide receiver Nelson Rosario with less than two minutes left.

"Tonight was our last night we had coach Neuheisel," Zumwalt said. "For one game. We just wanted it so bad for him. We showed our heart and pride for him."