To me the biggest slap in the face for the Big 12 is their champion not being given a first-round bye.

I'm trying to figure out what the argument would be for Boise State.

If Boise State wins the MWC they will have ...
- two wins over 10-2 UNLV (who beat Houston & Big 12 killer Kansas)
- a win over 8-4 Washington State
- a win over 8-4 Georgia Southern
- a win over 7-5 San Jose St
- a close lose to #1 Oregon
- 7 wins vs non-bowl-eligible teams (all G5)
- a Heisman contender (shouldn't matter)
- zero P4 wins

If ASU wins the Big 12 they will have ...
- win over top 20 BYU
- win over top 20 Iowa State
- win at 8-4 Kansas State
- win at 7-5 Texas State
- win vs Miss State (P4 OOC win)
- loss to 8-4 Texas Tech
- loss to 5-7 Cincinnati (with an injured QB)
- a blowout win over Wyoming (only comparable head-to-head game, ASU won by 41, Boise St by 4 in a 4th quarter comeback)
- 7 wins vs non-bowl-eligible teams (6 P4 teams)

If Iowa State wins the Big 12 they will have ....
- win over top 20 ASU
- win over 8-4 Baylor
- win over 8-4 Kansas State
- win over 8-4 Iowa
- win over 7-5 Arkansas State (same record as SJSU)
- loss to 8-4 Texas Tech
- loss to 5-7 Kansas
- 5 wins vs non-bowl-eligible teams (4 P4 teams)

Comparing the two conferences head to head (Big 12 6, MWC 2) ....
- UNLV beat Houston
- UNLV beat Kansas
- Baylor beat Air Force
- Utah beat Utah State
- ASU beat Wyoming
- BYU beat Wyoming
- Colorado beat Colorado State
- Arizona beat UNM

By my count, the MWC had three wins vs P4 foes this year (UNLV over Houston & Kansas and SJSU over Stanford). By contrast, the MWC had two losses to FCS foes (UNM to Montana State and Wyoming to Idaho).

Other than having a better record (by virtue of playing a very easy schedule), I can't find another argument to have Boise State over any of the top 4 Big 12 teams. UNLV has a better argument than Boise State (which may be Boise's only other argument). If the Broncos were in the Big 12, I think they would have been another very average team probably finishing around .500.