"..voting based on how such sanctions would affect their team." Please tell us how sanctions against Bush/USC would affect any team from UT, WY, ID, ND, SD, CO, KS, NE, NM, MT, MO, IL, MS, MN, NC, SC and other green states. Your "reasonable explanation" is nothing of the sort.
The national champions ship is national, which means:
1. If USC were stripped of the title, their teams moves up one notch for that season. That's minor.
2. More significantly, if USC is sanctioned that will make them a weaker team and give teams in most of the green states a better shot at the national championship. They'd also get a better shot at recruits who are considering USC.