If the committee gives a huge middle finger to a P4 conference in such a public manner, it hurts the image of legitimacy that the playoffs need desperately in order to get the viewership they do. If it turns into an obviously rigged joke, viewers will start treating the playoffs like any other bowl game. Frankly, all this drama is making me realize that college football is better with more ambiguity about National Champions. The ACC is way more fun to watch this year than it’s been in a long time because I have no idea who’s going to win each division, much less the conference. When the playoffs don’t matter, every team matters, even the ones who have already lost a game or two.