Atlanta ? Take that, pollsters and computers. The team most likely to be left out of the national-championship game has a trophy of its own.

For Auburn, that probably will have to do.

Jason Campbell threw for three touchdowns and accounted for more than 400 yards, leading the No. 3 Tigers to a 38-28 victory over 15th-ranked Tennessee in the SEC championship game Saturday night.

Despite being 12-0 for the first time in school history, Auburn appears to be the odd team out in another Bowl Championship Series mess.

“If we don’t get a shot at playing for the national championship, sure, there will be some hard feelings,” Campbell said. “But they can’t take away what this team did this year.”

Not that the Tigers passed up the chance to get in some last-minute lobbying.

“When you go 12-0 in the SEC, there’s no doubt in my mind you should play in the dance — and that’s the Orange Bowl,” Auburn safety Junior Rosegreen said. “Everyone in the world knows how hard we fought. We’ve been through it all, and we came out on top.”

Even so, Auburn is expected to get twice-beaten Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl — not USC or Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Those teams led the BCS standings, and only a major change of heart from the poll voters or a short-circuiting of the computers will keep the Trojans and Sooners from playing for another disputed national championship.

“This is a true team, from top to bottom,” said Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, capping his own remarkable comeback from nearly getting fired a year ago. “I just hope everyone will be fair when they vote tonight. I know we’ll get at least one first-place vote” in the coaches poll.

No. 1 USC 29, UCLA 24

Los Angeles — Reggie Bush had two long touchdown runs, Ryan Killeen kicked five field goals, and USC held off UCLA to virtually lock up a trip to the Orange Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The final BCS standings and bowl pairings will be announced today. The Trojans (12-0, 8-0 Pac-10) have been ranked No. 1 all season in both the AP Top 25 and coaches polls and, most importantly, the BCS standings.

The Trojans completed the fifth perfect regular season in school history with their 21st straight victory.

No. 4 California 26, Southern Miss. 16

Hattiesburg, Miss. — J.J. Arrington ran for 261 yards, Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, and the Golden Bears scored on a bizarre special-teams play in their victory over Southern Mississippi. Arrington, the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, surpassed the 100-yard mark for the school-record 11th straight game for California (10-1), which learns today if the closer-than-expected victory will result in its first Rose Bowl bid since 1959.

No. 7 Louisville 55, Tulane 7

New Orleans — Stefan LeFors, who played high school ball in nearby Baton Rouge, threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead Louisville to its fifth straight game of at least 55 points. The nation’s top-rated passer completed 19 of 27 for 247 yards before leaving the game late in the third quarter.

No. 10 Virginia Tech 16, No. 9 Miami 10

Miami — Virginia Tech capped its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference season with a championship, getting two touchdown passes from Bryan Randall and holding Miami’s high-powered offense to 190 yards.

No. 19 Pittsburgh 43, South Florida 14

Tampa, Fla. — Tyler Palko threw for a career-high 411 yards and five touchdowns, and the Panthers virtually assured themselves the Big East’s spot in the Bowl Championship Series.