Sure, TODAY, if you are a member of the SEC, or any other P5 outside of the ACC, you get the SOS benefit of the doubt. But, that's why a playoff needs to be "blind" to conference affiliation, just like justice is supposed to be blind to anything but the facts.

The problem with simply putting in the "top 4 teams" means that bias will inherently be a part of the system. Why? Here's a few reasons:

1) Perception that the P5 moniker is inherently better than the G5 or non-ND Indy moniker. Tell that to Wake Forest, Indiana, or a host of the 50% of the P5 teams that are horrible year-in and year-out.
2) With so few teams making the CFP, someone (in this case an pseudo-omniscient committee) has to decide who is worth and who is not. There's no bias there, NAW.
3) Because there ARE only 12 (13 if you play a game outside the continental 48) games in the regular season, there is no unbiased way to truly determine which teams are truly worthy of a birth in the CFP if there is no standard set of criteria by which to judge the entrants.

I could go on, but that's enough to make my point. Simply put, the only way to fairly run the CFP is for there to be a playoff of at least 11 teams. I say 16 is best. Why 11? You need 11 because there are 10 conferences and the most unbiased way of being selected in is to win your conference. Try as Newey might, one cannot argue the merit of being the best in your group (Sure, you can say that group A - the SEC - is better than group G - the MWC, but you are arguing style-points, semantics, and subjective criteria.). You need the 11th spot because, although the NCAA claims to have nothing to do with the CFP, it does because it allows it to exist. And, as such, you should have to have a place for the best team not affiliated with a conference.

But, 11 doesn't work so you say. The SEC is better than the Sun Belt you say. I say, so what? Over time, everything evens out. If you want more than 11, go for it. Make it 12. Make it 16. But, it should include no fewer than 11 and guarantee one spot for every conference champion and the best independent team. Now, if you want to start arguing style points and conference strength, then go for 16 teams and let the at-large births go to the also-rans of the power conferences.

If you care about style points, use the magical committee to use its subjective BCS-style formula to determine the bracket for seeding. But, don't leave out teams simply because they weren't given a seat at the big boy's table. This is America, where everyone deserves a fair shot. If you like the current system, go find another team to cheer for besides BYU, because under the current system, BYU has 0% change of making the CFP and only a slightly better chance of getting an invite to a NY6 bowl...because the way the system is set up today, it is set up to keep the little guy down.