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But, sice you ignored my challenge, to actually come up with the number of teams that were in it.
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When we consider that OSU lost to a team (IL) that ranked somewhere around 40th, and LSU to an even weaker team (AR), we must conclude that neither team can claim to be championship caliber. Further, when we note that four teams - OK, FL, KS and VATech - finished the season with higher Sagarin ratings than LSU, and that one of those teams - OK - is rated higher than OSU, we must question the selection of LSU as a championship contender. Finally, were we to buy your "regular season is the playoff" line of goods, we would have to object to the exclusion of the only team that made it through the regular season without a loss - HI.
So, that gives us at least seven teams that have a clear claim to championship contender status: OK, OSU, KS, FL, VATech, LSU and HI. However, according to the Sagarin ratings, HI rates out at 16. So we must add nine more teams to those who should be given a championship shot: WV, USC, MO, GA, AZState, USF, OR, Clemson, Cincinnati.
To answer your question then, this year there are at least 16 teams that have a legitimate claim to a place in the championship game. Any system that does not include, at minimum, all 16 of those teams, cannot produce a legitimate champion.