I think we all just need to say the quiet part out loud here: Being a big name brand matters in these ranking. I'm not sure we could dispute the fact that a Texas vs. Notre Dame bowl would grab a lot more eyes than BYU vs. IU. CFB is about money. There is a balance of rewarding good teams and making sure that CFB makes as much money as possible. The committee cannot come out and say this because no one wants to openly admit that money is a significant factor here. Thus the committee comes up with throw away answers that do not hold up under scrutiny.