The first rankings are not as significant as the post Conference Championship weekend rankings. The committee during the first rankings cannot consider conference champions because it has not been determined yet. Unless PAC 12 Champ, Big 12 Champ, Big 10 Champ, and Notre Dame have more than 1 loss there will not be 2 SEC teams.
I know your use of bold must mean something, but the committee's first ranking will mean a great deal because it will make any subsequent move noticeable.
I've followed the process as closely as anyone, and I've been upset about it the whole way. I was against a playoff when that put me in the extreme minority on this site, so I'm not here to applaud the process.
However, the committee has rules that go beyond merely conference champions. They've stated that and multiple members have stated that the conference championship criteria is not a critical component. They also have stated that injuries matter, and that SoS matters, also since you bring up Big 12, common opponents matter. So, Alabama for instance has a trump card over Baylor in addition to everything else.
Part of the issue is our expectations though. If we hold the committee to a low standard, it becomes more likely that's what we'll see. They should be held accountable and be expected to in the least follow their own rules. Which by the way, lend no credence at all to the idea of both passing up a non-SEC champ for a conference champ
and choosing Notre Dame over them.
There's just no way the committee can justify demoting Alabama several spots in their last ranking (unless they lose). It won't happen, because they won't have anything aside from one of many criteria to do that on. It's not that they won't want to, it's just that they don't have complete liberty. If they want to screw over Alabama, they have to start with the first poll and they have to place all teams carefully to even make that a possible scenario. They rank the wrong team too high or too low and it will blow up their ability to make the changes they need (if once again screwing over one conference is their goal) later. Remember, once they rank a future Alabama opponent high, they will have trouble discounting that win later.
I've stated before that I think their purpose might be as much to keep 3 from one conference out as anything, and it's easy to see that possible scenario, but it's not easy to see Alabama as the third SEC team if they don't lose. I do think Pacaderma's quote about spread the wealth is on the mark. The BCS, due to computer rankings, could have placed a third SEC team in the top four, and that would have been even more likely if Ole Miss had beat LSU. They won't allow that, of course. I also would fully expect them to mess with seeding, or bump a borderline SEC team out, but if Alabama wins they're not borderline.
Doesn't mean a thing, but CBS's predicted CFP Selection Committee's top 10 is:
I'd be kind of surprised by that exact ranking, but if it's something like that, there's just no way Alabama is left out if they win out. It simply won't matter what else happens.
Finally, the first rankings will be their most important ever, and will set a precedent. Up until now, guys like Gilmore and Kanell have been just making stuff up with nothing to base it on. Either the committee is run by unethical garbage like those guys, and we'll know it soon, or it's going to set a precedent that either leans towards the polls, or leans toward SoS, in both cases Alabama will be very highly ranked.