Mannion's Career Day Propels Beavers By Bruins 27-20

Storm Woods had a big day against UCLA totaling 96 yards and a score.
(AP Photo/ Mark J. Terill)

Oregon State continues to surprise. After beating Wisconsin at home two weeks ago, Oregon State had a bye week to prepare for the UCLA Bruins and they did not waste it. Sean Mannion threw for a career high 379 yards and two scores as the Beavers upset UCLA in Los Angeles 27-20. The Beaver run defense stopped the nation's leading rusher in Johnathan Franklin allowing him only 45 yards on the ground on 12 carries. Brett Hundley did not go quietly throwing for 372 yards himself and a score but it wasn't enough as the Beavers forced the Bruins to be one dimensional and kept the ball in the air where talented defensive back Jordan Poyer was patrolling.

A lot of the focus was on the talented freshman Brett Hundley and what he has done with the Bruin offense and they were the favorites coming into this game. Too bad no one told Oregon State. The Beavers forced a 3 and out on their first defensive possession and started to march the ball down the field with Sean Mannion spreading the ball around to different receivers all over the field. The drive would eventually stall out and OSU was forced to settle for a field goal giving them the early lead.

The teams would trade punts until in the second quarter UCLA started to find their rhythm, getting the ball deep into the red zone, but like their counterparts, the Bruins would stall out inside the 10 yard line and kick a field goal to tie the game at 3. The Beavers though would waste no time in responding as Sean Mannion found Brandin Cooks breaking free and streaking toward the end zone for a 75 yard touch down play. The Beav's weren't done their either. After getting the ball back on a Bruin punt Mannion would go over the top and find Markus Wheaton in the end zone for another 42 yard scoring toss to put the Beavers up 17-3 in the second quarter.

Just before the end of the half, Brett Hundley found Shaquille Evans up the sideline for a 65 yard gain and touchdown  to bring the Bruins back within a score at 17-10. The Bruins hoped that would give them a little momentum going into the second stanza. After forcing an Oregon State punt it looked like they were poised to get themselves back into the driver seat but the Beaver defense wasn't having any of that. The teams would trade defensive stands going back and forth and UCLA looked poised to take advantage, intercepting Sean Mannion in Beaver territory but were once again turned away by the stingy OSU defense.

The Beavers would then go on a long drive, covering 88 yards and nearly 5 minutes on the clock. Once again it was a healthy serving of Sean Mannion passing the ball but the drive was capped by running back Storm Woods breaking across the goal line from two yards out to give the Beavers a 24-10 lead.

The Bruins though, would not go away. They responded with a 7 play 75 yard drive of their own, capped by a Brett Hundley 1 yard touch down rush.  Once OSU got the ball back though they would respond with another field goal to stretch the lead back to 10 which proved to be insurmountable. UCLA would make a short field goal to render the final score but it was largely just a window dressing.

Head Coach Mike Riley was proud of his teams resiliance stating "It was a great job by our team; I just loved it," Riley said. "That was a really good group of offensive players and a good offensive scheme and I thought we just kept playing. When something bad happened, nobody blinked and somebody else made a play." Oregon State will stay on the road, having to travel to Arizona to face the Wildcats who were pasted 49-0 by the Ducks while UCLA gets to rebound against Colorado who is coming off a big come from behind win against Washington State.

Ducks Outlast Bruins, Claim Pac-12 Championship

LaMichael James tosses the ball to the referee after his first score.
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

It was a historic night in the Pac-12. For the first time in conference history, the conference crowned it's champion. However, what's new in the conference looked much the same as the last two years. The Oregon Ducks got out to a quick start and never looked back as they captured their third consecutive conference crown and earned the right to represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. Even without scoring in the fourth quarter, the Ducks racked up 49 points and as the confetti covered the field in Autzen Stadium, one thing became apparent. Oregon is now the class of the conference.

LaMichael James had his fourth 200 yard rushing game, running for 219 and 3 TD's on the ground and garnered game MVP honors. Darron Thomas added three more scored through the air and rushed for another as he became Oregon's all time leader in touchdown passes.

Nelson Rosario lead the way for the Bruins with 6 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. One of those a full extension one hand grab over Terrance Mitchell in the front corner of the end zone which would be one of the many highlights of the game. Derrick Coleman used his bruising style of running to run for 83 yards and be one of the main stalwarts on the offensive side of the ball.

The game opened up with a UCLA fumble on second down by Johnathan Franklin and Oregon was in business early. After the Bruins held the Ducks on three consecutive plays LaMichael James broke through the line and put the first points on the board with a 30 yard run. The Duck defense forced another 3 and out and Oregon looked to put the game away early. However, the UCLA defense forced two consecutive turnovers. The second was an interception that caromed off of Kenjon Barner right into the hands of a waiting Patrick Larimore who returned the pick all the way for a touchdown.

The Ducks would respond with a quick drive, scoring in under 90 seconds. Josh Huff made a 30 yard reception to get the ball down to the 10 yard line. On the next play Darron Thomas faked the hand off to Kenjon Barner and took it in himself to put the Ducks back in the lead.

Once again, the offenses would trade punts and Johnathan Franklin would fumble for the second time on the day, recovered by Michael Clay, Oregon's leading tackler. Oregon would take advantage of the fumble once again when Darron Thomas would find a wide open Colt Lyerla in the back of the end zone to put the Ducks up 21-7 nearing the end of the quarter.

UCLA would respond, sustaining a drive which was capped off when Nelson Rosario caught a 37 yard pass for a touch down. Quarter Back Kevin Prince ran the ball twice in the drive to keep the Duck defense off balance as he would most of the day. The Ducks continued to have issues defending the pistol offense as they had against Nevada earlier in the season.

Oregon responded, moving the ball up the field until LaMichael James broke free for a 25 yard rush up the sideline down to the UCLA 6 yard line. 2 plays later, James punched it in from 3 yards out to extend the Duck lead. The Bruins would have a chance to respond but once again would put the ball on the turf, this time it was Derrick Coleman. The Ducks would be held on the first three plays but much like their first scoring drive would put points on the board on fourth down. UCLA would punt on their next possession and Oregon would turn the ball over on downs before Kevin Prince connected with Joseph Fauria deep in Oregon territory to set up a half ending field goal.

The Bruins came out with new life in the second half, opening the third frame by forcing an Oregon punt. The Bruins came back down the field and on a read play, Kevin Prince rushed for his only running touch down of the night, the bring UCLA within 35-24.

As they had through most of the year, Oregon responded with a touch down drive. LaMichael James scored his third touch down run going off right tackle and into the end zone. It capped a 46 yard drive which featured a heavy dose of the running game which makes Oregon so dangerous. Thomas' third and final touch down pass would come on the next drive giving the Ducks their last score of the night. David Paulson, in his last game in Autzen Stadium found his way into the end zone on a 22 yard hook up.

UCLA would not go quietly into the night though and Prince would find Nelson Rosario with the aforementioned touchdown reception. Rosario ran a fade to the front corner of the end zone and Rosario climbed the ladder and snagged the ball with one hand over Terrance Mitchell. The touch down gave the game it's final tally of 49-31. Coach Chip Kelly put in back up Bryan Bennett to finish the game taking a knee and running out the clock.

After the game, coach Kelly raised a hand to silence the crowd before dedicating the Pac-12 championship trophy to recently ousted U of O president Richard Larviere. The Ducks now wait for the winner of the Big Ten championship Saturday between Michigan State and Wisconsin. It's a rematch of a game that went down to the wire and featured one of the greatest endings of the year when Kirk Cousins connected on a hail mary pass to end the game.

For the Bruins, they must wait for their bowl invite. They requested a bowl waiver to play in a bowl after finishing the season with a losing record. Whatever bowl they end up in they will have to go without coach Rick Neuheisel who coached his last game on Friday night.

Pac-12 Championship Preview

Nate Costa even got into the action last year
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

After thirteen weeks of intense competition, it all comes down to this. Oregon and UCLA will face each other in the Pac-12 Championship game with the Rose Bowl on the line. Oregon (10-2) clinched the North last week against in state rival Oregon State and will play host to the inaugural game. They play host to the South winner UCLA (6-6) who clinched when Utah fell to Colorado at home. These two teams come off very different paths getting to this game, illustrated by their last weeks of the regular season.

The Ducks jumped out to a 42-7 lead on Oregon State before the Beavers scored two late touchdowns to give the final tally of 49-21 as the Ducks cruised through most of the game. For UCLA, they come into the game in a less auspicious fashion. UCLA got ran off the field in a 50-0 shellacking which forced the UCLA athletic department's hand, stating that Friday's game will be coach Rick Neuheisel's last as head coach, regardless of outcome.