What's funny to me is the people who think the star manipulation only goes one direction. You just don't recognize it when it favors one of your players because when that happens, it's warranted in the biased eye.
They ALL manipulate it. A lot of Mullen's Plan B's in the past have been given a boost from Rosebowl getting them a bump. Ultimately, it's about mythical recruiting championships. Ever wonder why the SEC ratings are always so inflated? Yes, we do bring in the most talent in the country, but our classes as a league are on average well overrated because our fans care more and the sites manipulate the ratings to cater to the SEC schools since we push recruiting so much.
The ONLY reason the rating system matters in a concreate way is if your coach attempts to use it as a recruiting pitch. I know Orgeron would push for his signees to get re-evaluated and ranked higher because he wanted to be able to walk into a recruit's living room and tell them they were going to be joining a class that's ranked X in the nation. He would use it as part of his sales pitch, so it can be used as a tool by coaches. That's it.