I think it's more about relativity to the field rather than the sole values of one or two losses. tOSU would've made the playoff last year over a hypothetical two loss Alabama.
Regardless, I tend to agree with what you're saying. The CFP has ignored conference champions in favor of teams that had better regular seasons. In 2017, I think we can easily argue that tOSU was punished for playing a tougher non-con schedule (and losing a game) versus Alabama playing a weaker non-con and winning them all.