Real quick, before I make my real point: you can't just lump UR 8-4 Louisville with UR 4-8 Florida. Those are not one and the same.
My main point is that a lot of this debate has to do with initial expectations vs early results.
ND was preseason #5 and promptly lost their first 2 games. Dismissed in people's minds. Underachievers. They're done.
Texas was preseason #1 and lost their only 2 games vs P4 teams, and famously fall out of the rankings. Dismissed. Underachievers. They're done.
Alabama is preseason #8. They go 10-2. That's about right. Aligned with preseason expectations. Looked great in the 2nd quarter of the season. Fell off late.
Miami is preseason #10. They go 10-2. That's about right. Aligned with preseason expectations. Both losses to good/not great UR teams. Left out of their CCG by some kind of stupid tie-breaker. CFP ranking should be 2nd behind H2H.
If you take all this into consideration, while it maybe shouldn't matter...it obviously does matter.