The old P5 is not = to the new P4. The Big10 of yester year is not the same as the Big10 now, same for the SEC, and unfortunately, same for the Big12. The ACC is the same but is on the brink of suffering the same fate. The line that separated the P5 from everyone else, like it or not, has started to shift toward separating the SEC/B1G from everyone else.

So if LSU finishes 9-3 with losses to USC, Alabama and Ole Miss, but thanks to the new SEC can boast wins over the likes of Oklahoma, and Texas A&M, you can see them getting an invite over a Big12 runner up. They shouldn't, but the same biases that put these brands in over lesser brands in the past (think TCU getting snubbed several years ago, heck even Florida State last year) will continue to favor big brands in the playoff over lesser brands.

The only saving grace will be if the CFP members who aren't B1G/SEC beholden still have enough power to advocate for the Big12/ACC. If they do this year, how much longer will that last?

The point is the B1G/SEC have become more powerful, and to expect them to not flex that power to get more of their teams in the playoff would be not only naivete of the future, but simply inconsistent with what has always been done in the past.