Not making the playoff, but beating Alabama or facsimile in a nice bowl (and in sec territory), or making the playoff because a bunch of teams lost ahead of us and we lose big because we weren't actually that great (this assumes a reaaaaally close win over mich st)?

I would love for us to get into the first playoff, but if it turns out like 2006 again, I think it could be an even bigger setback for us and the B1G.

Edit: let me rephrase since there's obviously a lot of confusion. The question is implicitly asking: how much is the playoff worth? Is a playoff loss worth more than a lesser victory (in your own opinion, not literally is a win better than a loss)?