The Salt Lake Tribune did a good job of posting some of the comments written by national outlets, and here they are below.
"Here's one way to give impetus to a much-needed playoff system for college football, in just five words: Utah Utes, AP national champions."
Dwight Perry
The Seattle Times
"Utah … national champion?! Why not? I still don't believe this is the best team in America, but without a playoff, it's all about the résumé. This wasn't a fluky win and this wasn't a case of Alabama coming out flat. Utah straight-up whipped the Tide on both sides of the ball, and remember, this was against a team that was No. 1 for most of the year and was a quarter away from playing for the national title. This was a great, great 'Bama team, and Utah beat it like a drum."
Pete Fiutak
CollegeFootballNews.com
"Utah quarterback Brian Johnson deserves an explanation. After all, he has a very valid question. 'What else do we have to prove?' asked Johnson, after leading his team to a stunning, convincing 31-17 win over Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The answer should be nothing."
Heather Dinich
ESPN.com
More than Southern California's convincing victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl or a potential win by Texas in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State, Utah's upset of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl has thrown a serious wrinkle into the conversation about who deserves to be No. 1."
Connor Ennis
The New York Times
"The Utah Utes have as much claim to this year's national championship in Division IA college football as any team in the country. … Do I think that Utah is as good as Oklahoma, Texas, Florida or USC? No. Do I know that they aren't? No, I don't know that either. Neither do you. No one knows and no one will ever find out. All I really know is that there is one undefeated team in college football and it's Utah. They've compiled those 13 wins against legitimate FBS competition. I don't have a vote in the AP poll but, if I did, my number one pick would be Utah."Bradford Doolittle
The Kansas City Star
"It's really a no-brainer, there is absolutely no reason why Utah should not be ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll, they beat all teams they played, they dominated the SEC's No. 2 team and did nothing wrong, except for having the unfortunate reality of playing in a non-BCS conference. The last time the AP voted a different champion than the BCS, it was on the grounds that they did not feel the BCS champion was the best team in the land. They got it right once. It's time for the AP to get it right again."
Gustavo Destro
The Bleacher Report