I don't believe it's about TV ratings.
I think the committee cares about perceived talent level. They care about STAR ratings. Maybe they should and maybe they shouldn't, but a lot of people on this thread seem to think resume is all that matters or should matter and I disagree.
Yes, if there is a wide discrepancy between resumes, you go with the better one, but it's not the be-all, end-all. Yes, winning your conference is a good thing, and the committee has said it matters, but again - it's not a be-all, end-all. Yes, SOS matters, but as one aspect of many.
And I'll say it again about winning your conference - winning your CCG vs a good opponent is obviously good and taken into account, but it is just one game. Say Minnesota wins the B10. Great. But you could prudently say the Gophers' B10 title and Iowa being ranked 20th was due to a scheduling quirk (or lucky or whatever)...if you believe they are similarly-quality teams. They both got RU and PSU from the east, but one drew Maryland and the other drew Michigan.
9 conference games? Good.
Only 1 divisional loss? Great.
But stay home in December, this other same-conference, same-division team had one fewer hurdle to jump. Yeah, the team you beat.