Auburn

The undefeated and No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers will win the national championship for one reason and one reason only — they have Cam Newton.

Newton has been the most electrifying player in college football this year, and one could argue there hasn’t been a player like him since Reggie Bush and Vince Young in 2005.

Newton has started every game for Auburn this season, despite a "pay for play" controversy that has been the talk of college football the past two months.

Despite the allegations, Newton was deemed eligible by the NCAA, and he has become even more dominant of a player in the second half of the season.

With the pressure at its highest, Newton has been able to succeed. The turning point was during the Iron Bowl when the Tigers trailed 21-0 on the road in hostile Tuscaloosa. The Tigers’ national-title hopes seemed destroyed as Alabama rolled over Auburn.

However, Newton willed his team to a win in the second half and finished the 28-27 victory with 13-of-20 passing to go along with three passing TDs and one rushing TD.

The next week, Auburn dismantled South Carolina, 56-17, in the SEC championship game in Atlanta, behind Newton once again.

The star quarterback went off for 335 passing yards and four passing touchdowns along with 73 rushing yards and two more scores.

On Dec. 11, Newton won the Heisman Trophy, college’s football most prestigious honor, in a landslide victory. For the season, no one has been more dominant or polarizing an athlete in college football.

He finished the regular season leading the nation in passing efficiency as well as top 15 in rushing.

Newton accumulated almost 4,000 yards by himself and 49 touchdowns on the season.

The Ducks and Tigers have two of the most explosive offenses in college football, but the Ducks defense is undersized and won’t be able to stop Newton as he shines on the biggest stage. I bet against Auburn when it fell behind early to ‘Bama, but I won’t make that mistake again.

— by Ben Wolfson

Oregon

After watching the Oregon Ducks do work offensively this season, I am sold.

They can’t lose.

Chip "Big Balls" Kelly — as the student section has dubbed him — is one of the most insane, throw caution to the wind, devil-may-care coaches in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision.

He plays to win, and he won’t nurse a lead. He will try to build on it until his squad is up 20 or more (see Oregon vs. Stanford).

The man called a fake punt on fourth down inside his team’s own 30-yard line with a 9-point lead over hated rival Oregon State. Are you kidding me?

Even more bizarre, it worked. The Ducks stayed on the field and continued to burn the defense.

That’s why Oregon has outscored its opponents 115 to 24 in the fourth quarter. The Ducks don’t quit.

Ever.

They will continue to run the highest-powered offense in the country. And they won’t stop until somebody on Auburn’s defense fakes an injury to slow the relentless assault (see Oregon vs. California).

The Ducks average 49.3 points and 537 yards per game, and that alone will give Oregon its first national title in school history.

The defense won’t be able to stop Cam Newton. It won’t be able to stop anything the Tigers do offensively. But it won’t make a difference.

The Ducks will find the end zone time and time again until the final gun stops the bleeding. Get ready for an action-packed showdown between two offensive juggernauts with a total of three punts throughout the game.

Final score: 49-45 Oregon.

— by Jon Frank