Different groups? Hardly. They all operate with the same shared goal: to maximize short term profits.
That's why a loss in November is absolutely fatal to virtually every college football team. But to Alambama? Nope, you get a freebie, every time.
And it's not about who is assumed to be 'better' by biased humans, it's about who is more deserving. Teams that fail to qualify for even their conference championship are clearly not deserving of an opportunity to play for a national championship.
You want to know how to standardize it? Easy. Only conference champions go to the playoffs, period. But then we couldn't rig it to have multiple teams come from the southeast that will help to maximize ratings and advertising rates.
"Participation Champions" indeed. Now that's some funny irony.