Yeah, moving Alabama up after that Auburn game of all things was the most obvious ploy to protect Alabama imaginable. There was zero justification for it and that's why there will never be a good answer for it, because they can't give an honest answer. As soon as UVA threw a pick on that asinine trick play in OT, they knew what they were going to do, they only "deliberated until 2:30 in the morning," so they could try to come up with a rationale for it all.
The whole 15 minute preface to the rankings reveal was to lay the groundwork for the screwjob in the public's mind by reiterating what a "difficult decision" it was. It wasn't a difficult decision, at all. Any non-ESPN employee or SEC affiliated hack would tell you that Miami and ND were the obvious choices.
Looking back, they telegraphed it the whole time and it makes me wonder how far down they filter out these talking points because this year I started hearing terminology coming from ESPN people but also non-ESPN affiliated podcasters like Clay Travis, Pate and J.D. Pickell, specifically such terms as referring to Alabama as the "#1 seed" in the SECCG, referring to CCGs a "bonus game" (or Pickell's favorite term, "extra credit"), the way the last week Alabama's win over UGA in Athens was referred to constantly as "the best win the country by any team."
It all just felt very coordinated and it felt like there was an ecosystem that extended beyond just ESPN. And it flowed both ways. By yesterday you had the CFP committee chair using Miami media douchebag talking points in their justification for swapping us with Miami.