Sorry for the rambling, but this is exactly the reason why a playoff will never work in college football as well. Say you do an 8, 12 or 16 team playoff, the bias of the pollsters will still very much come into play. Say USC ends up the season ranked #8 while an undefeated team ends up 9th, but because they weren't ranked high before the season, which is another totally subjective thing, they can't overcome that deficit to pass a Stanford beaten USC because they only fell a few spots because of a "fluke" loss.
Don't want to get too off topic, but USC being ranked too highly has nothing to do with the viability of a playoff.
Say USC wins out and they are ranked #3, behind LSU and OSU accordingly. Clearly, they deserve that ranking having beat #2 cal and then oregon. But what if cal's only loss is to USC, and they drop to #9? Now you have a scenario where Cal has the better loss but has no shot at a title, even in a playoff system. If we adhere to current rules, USC can look to the choke against Stanford as the reason why they wont be playing for a title. However, if there is a playoff, USC, at #3, gets redemption and Cal doesnt; unfair right? WRONG. No matter what, Cal doesnt get to play for the title anyway; this is known as the "lost cause" clause. They are damned no matter what.
Now, say LSU is #1, Zookster Zooked the Buckeyes, and now we have this:
#1) LSU undefeated
#2) Oklahoma with a bad loss to Colorado
#3) USC with a bad loss to Stanford
#4) OSU with a bad loss to Illinois
So who plays for the title? Well, it's a pissing contest, with many irrelevant factors playing the major role. Like "When did you lose that one game?" Why does it matter, a loss is a loss and a good win proves you over any loss. "Best traveling fan base?" Why does money have a role in the selection process? (Guys, look at our own favorable BCS rules if you dont believe money plays a role in the BCS selection process). Then you have the popularity contest with the media and coaches polls.
The example is based on this year, and more than lilkely wont play out. But, think about it in future years... what if Notre Dame is in the position of the 1-loss teams? A playoff system is only unfair if there is just 1 undefeated team because they have to prove themselves twice. It has nothing to do with fairness of teams outside looking in, because they are outside no matter what. If you are #5 or #12 and deserve to be #5, it doesnt matter. If you are #5 and deserve to be #2, it still doesnt matter because without a playoff system you still dont get your shot.
That's why the only time a playoff system is unfair, is when you have the top team in the country having to prove themselves twice. But if they are truly the best team, they should be able to beat a #4 and a #2.
