If Cincinnati is above BYU (say #8) and BYU is at #12, then BYU would get in. To keep it the same scenario, if you move Cincinnati to #15 - then you have to move everyone from #9 to #14 up a spot, so BYU would then become #11 and would still be in. You are saying to move Cincinnati to #15 and then take a different team that was below BYU in the first list and move them above BYU in the 2nd list to keep BYU at #12. That's changing two variables.

You keep saying that where Cincinnati is matters - but if you ONLY move Cincinnati, then you have to move the other teams (including BYU) up a spot to fill the space vacated by Cincinnati. That is the realistic scenario. You are saying you need to swap 2 teams - take Cincinnati from ahead of BYU to behind them and move another team from behind BYU to ahead of them. Sure - you can do that as an academic exercise, but that isn't the way polls usually work. If a team loses and falls below BYU - another team isn't likely to leapfrog a bunch of teams to fill the space vacated by Cincinnati. The teams immediately behind where Cincinnati used to be move up a spot to fill in the void.