The contracts are such that the bowls no longer have a say in which team plays in them. It has to be a team from the contracted conference, unless there aren't enough bowl-eligible teams. The ACC and the BIG have gone so far as to decide which team, after the NY6 have been assigned, goes to which bowls. They will not follow any rankings but rather decide which pairing is best for the conference.

That's why they are called power conferences.

They dictate how CFP is governed. ESPN wanted the semi final games to be played on Jan 1, 2016 instead of Dec 31, as they are scheduled. CFP told ESPN to go jump in the lake. The control the top 20-25 bowls by placing them under 6-year contracts.

They have that kind of power.