Would everyone agree that any of the top 16 teams could win against each other on any given day? Give the current #16 Texas another shot at current #1 Ohio, and the results could be different. So ability isn't really a factor as much as deserving. A bad loss in college football just isn't something that you can ignore even paired with a couple "quality losses". So sorry Texas, Florida ended your season. That's been constant for decades, even before the playoffs.
But, if they want to award exciting non conference play, and teams firing up the TV ratings ($$$$$$$), you have to say welcome to the playoffs Texas and thank you for that one touchdown road loss to kickoff the season and three wins against teams that were ranked in the top 10 when you played them.