re: If your team doesn't make the playoff next year, how disappointed are you gonna be?

I will be disappointed even though I recognize that more than likely we won't make it. That's not because of WAOM; it's just math. Assuming hypothetically that Georgia, OSU, FSU, and Arizona win their conferences, you'll have the following competing for 6 (maybe 7) at large bids: Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ole Miss, LSU, Clemson, Notre Dame. There will be a surprise team or two in the mix at the end of the season. And if you're realistic and go ahead and pencil in Alabama and Michigan, then all those teams are competing for 4-5 slots.

I think everyone is underestimating how easy it will be for a Big 12 team to blow up and have an 11-1 or 10-2 record without having Texas and Oklahoma to worry about.

There will probably be a bunch of 10-2 teams next year competing for the last couple of spots, and it will all come down to the beauty contest.

ETA: I wish our OOC schedule was stronger next year. Nor am I predicting 10-2 for us. It will be very hard to go 10-2 next year.