Conference championships are the ultimate participation trophy. You were the best at participating in your conference. Congratulations. The only things that matter in CFB are winning, rankings, and quality of bowl game. Now maybe I'd buy a loss of motivation because once we hit 6 the bowl game is likely a forgone conclusion but the only reason a conference championship would matter is fighting for a better bowl slot, not because of some silly championship that has no value in the grand scheme of CFB.
To answer your question I guarantee the opportunity to be ranked and ranked as high as possible is a better drive than some silly championship.