Are you sure? Most of the stuff I read/heard said that fOSU would have been top 4 prior to the championship game if not for the injury to Barrett. People wanted to see how the next guy performed and planned to put them in if he didn't come out and suck. If fOSU didn't make it, it would have been due to an injury, not their easy schedule or shitty loss.
Ohio state's best wins: MSU Minnesota Wisconsin Baylor's best wins: TCU Oklahoma Kansas State TCU's best wins Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas State I don't see a lot of difference here. I'll take the team with far more NFL players and who had to play the extra game, if I'm going to split hairs.
It isn't dumb. They had an extra "bye," in place of playing a ranked opponent. Thus, they didn't do as much as Ohio State.
It isn't like they had a choice and volunteered. It also isn't like TCU and Baylor declined. Wisconsin wasn't a contender. Neither was Missouri, for that matter, or Arizona. That isn't a quarterfinal game; it's an extension of the regular season.
they chose to not have a conference championship game. the rule of having 12 teams to do it no longer holds.
It was an extra game to leave no doubt who was the sole champion. The Big 12 declared co-champions. That decision sealed TCU and Baylors fate.
It's the Big XII, One True Champion. Remember? [video=youtube;aZP9aQN0MxA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZP9aQN0MxA[/video] The funniest part about all of this is the fact the conference declined to name who their "One True Champion" was.
