I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but the autobids have the opportunity to screw some things up.
Are we talking P5 autobids for champs or the G5 as well? That would be 10 champs and 8 spots to fill.
Now, if you're just going to give it to P5 champs, then you have the chance to get some screwy results, like when a 8-4 or Wisconsin was conference champs. You can drop all 4 non-con games, and possibly even one or 2 conference games and still win a championship. 2008, Virginia Tech was 8-4 (5-3 in conference) and won a conference championship. These teams would be autobids while teams without championships (maybe like an Iowa this year, 12-1, but loss in the championship game) that are fighting for at-large selections into that final 3 chosen spots or left out of the conversation entirely.
As far as bowl games, I think an underappreciated side-effect of so many bowls is that teams get those extra practices. This means that there is a possibility for greater parity when the San Jose State's and such get a chance to compete and get more exposure and more practice time. And a bowl game is still a reward to student athletes. I doubt that many, if any, players are against an all-expenses paid trip that comes with a nice little goodie-bag and an extra game to play on TV.
