Indiana didn’t play at a cfp level either. Neither did bama if they make it. Don’t look now but a grand total of three teams with less than two losses are in the playoff. Two of them are Indiana and Bsu.
Big12 teams have better wins than the two from the acc. Big12 teams have better wins than Texas and Penn St.
The ctee picks and chooses which criteria to apply based on the team and conference. Because of this inconsistency it makes making a case for the big12 relatively easy