I've maintained all along that the current selection process is as corrupt as a Chicago Alderman's back office.  My theory is that ESPN steers the selection to specific teams and then the mouthpiece invents the reasons to fit the selection.  Its why a B10 champion can get passed over BY A TEAM IT BEAT that has the same record.  Its why one year, strength of schedule is important and the next year it isn't.  

And its sometimes subtle.  No one disputes that Alabama is a monster right now.  But, LSU pops up and then vanishes.  Georgia, has never proven that they know what the hell they're doing.  Florida is reverted to type since Urban left for a much better job.  So why is the narrative that the SEC is so much better than other conferences?  Is Georgia really a better football team than Wisconsin?  They might be more athletic, but any competent football observer can tell you that football players will beat athletes every time.

So, why is that narrative pushed even when there are years that its really not true?  Because, as we now see, ESPN is protecting its investment in the SEC. What they did to the B12 is proof.  They'll stick it to whomever they need to, including the B10, to protect the SEC.  They stuck it to Ohio State when they should've been included.  Quite frankly, they may have stuck it to TCU because they thought (wrongly) that they were a bigger threat to Alabama than a Big Ten champ with its third string QB.

Because never forget those words of wisdom:  "Follow the money."