LaMichael James ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns and No. 8 Oregon beat UCLA 49-31 in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game last night in Eugene, Ore., for the Ducks’ third straight conference title and a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Rick Neuheisel tipped his hat to the fans in his last game as coach of UCLA (6-7). The former Bruins quarterback was fired this week after four seasons with his alma mater.

Oregon (11-2) will play on Jan. 2 against the winner of the first Big 10 championship game, which will be played today between No. 11 Michigan State and No. 15 Wisconsin.

Oregon’s Darron Thomas threw for three touchdowns to become the Ducks’ career leader with 63 TD passes.

James became the first rusher in Pac-12 history with three straight 1,500-yard seasons. He moved into a tie with USC’s LenDale White (2003-05) for second on the league’s career rushing TD list with 52.

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP

No. Illinois 23, Ohio 20

In Detroit, Mathew Sims kicked a 33-yard field goal on the final play to cap a furious comeback that gave Northern Illinois (10-3) the victory over Ohio (9-4) in the Mid-American Conference title game last night in Detroit.

The Huskies trailed 20-0 after an abysmal first half before rallying behind quarterback Chandler Harnish, who threw three second-half TD passes, two of them in the fourth quarter.

Northern Illinois, which lost in the 2010 and 2005 MAC title games on last-minute touchdowns by Miami of Ohio and Akron, won its first MAC title since 1983.