One of the unique things about college football that you don't really see in other sports (or even other iterations of football) is the concept of having to "win pretty."
It's really easy to say "Hey, a win is a win, right?" when all you need to get to the playoffs or whatever is a specific victory total, but in college football you need to both win, beat the right teams, and look good doing it. Do just two of these things? Well, that's a recipe for a fun season, but it's going to be hard to win a national championship.