The January 10 BCS National Championship game between Oregon and Auburn is a match-up not even Mel Kiper Jr., college football’s Mr. know-it-all, could have predicted.

When the preseason rankings were released, with Oregon at #11 and Auburn at #22, these were two teams many expected would play in a far less coveted bowl game, yet after unbelievable seasons that saw both teams go undefeated, the Ducks and Tigers have shown they deserve to be playing for the national title.

Both Oregon and Auburn have electric offenses (Oregon topped the nation with 49.7 points per game, Auburn was seventh with 42.7) but defense could be the key to next Monday’s highly anticipated game. Oregon’s defense has been stellar throughout the season, allowing a measly 18.4 points per game, Auburn’s defense stumbled as the season wore on; over their last eight games Auburn allowed over 28 points per contest.

Despite the inconsistency of the Auburn defense, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone bold enough to bet against Auburn and their Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton. And although Newton suffered through a tumultuous, accusation-ridden season, he was still able to win college football’s most prestigious award, accounting for 48 touchdowns along the way.

Oregon has their own not-so-secret weapon in running back LaMichael James, who was one of the finalists for this year’s Heisman trophy. James, who celebrated his sophomore year by being more elusive than the Loch Ness monster, racked up over 1,600 yards on the ground and 21 touchdowns, grounds for a Heisman in a Cam Newton-less world. Even though James was only mildly disappointed that he missed out on the esteemed award, he noted that everything is secondary to the national title, “Winning the national championship, that’s the main goal,” he said. “I’ve always thought about that. I always wanted to be the guy holding up the little ball and giving it a kiss and all that good stuff.”

Whoever this game’s spark plug may be, whether it is Newton, James, or another awesomely talented young man, one thing that is for certain is both teams will arrive in Glendale hungry for a win; Auburn has not won a national championship in over 50 years and the Ducks have never won a title. With the quality cast of each team, this year’s BCS title game is shaping up to be one heck of a show, but keep your eyes open, because if you blink you just might miss it.

Lucky enough to be in Arizona but not lucky enough to have tickets to the game? That’s fine; Glendale, Arizona is choc-full of exhilarating activities! You could check out where the championship game will be played by taking a guided tour of the University of Phoenix stadium on a non-game day.

If walking around the stadium will be too painful for you because you know you won’t be able to catch the big game head over to nearby Scottsdale where the town holds a weekly Scottsdale Art Walk. Every Thursday evening you’ve got the option to take “America’s Original Art Walk” for free!

Another great tour to take is of the Ceretta Candy Company factory; the tour lasts for only 30 minutes and you’ll be taste testing for a large portion of that time as you stroll around downtown Glendale’s family-owned candy factory.

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