[staytrue]

winner of the Sugar Bowl is THE national champion....there are no other scenarios

How about the sugar bowl winner, eeks out a win while USC beats michigan by 50. USC might be the winner especially since USC will probably be #1 in both human polls on Sunday.

[NittanyLion]

It's my understanding that the National Champion is the winner of the BCS Nat'l Championship Game, regardless of what the polls say. I suppose a team could claim they're the champion according to a particular poll, but I believe NCAA records will only show the Sugar Bowl winner as the national champion this year.