They lost the NC to LSU though.
That is not what I am saying. I am saying that in the very specific instance of two potential playoff teams playing each other in the first post-regular-season game before the playoff selection, if one loses to the other, I think that carries a lot of weight.
Say Team A is ranked #1, team B is #2, team C 3, team D 4:
Team A & C play each other for the conference title. Team A wins. Next game. Team A & C play in the semifinal game to see which team is better and more deserving of the NC? We just did that. It just doesn't make sense to me. IMO, the only reason you are including team C in the playoff is because you can't think of any other team to invite, but you already agreed to play two semifinal games so you have to invite them anyways even though you just found out that team A is the more deserving team. IDK. While I enjoy the more meaningful New Years bowls that the playoff creates, as in the playoff games, I don't think the playoff is really doing anything meaningful in deciding the best team. It is always the two clearly top teams and two teams thrown in there because the other two need opponents.