In Oregon State's defense (my alma mater), they started a true freshman QB. I think he threw less picks than Taylor.
The defacto division champ finished 6-8. Obviously USC was the class of that division.
If that is the point you are going to use to refute my post, obviously you didn't get it. Oregon St. means little to the argument; just a nice way of adding a little extra bit of info in retrospect.
I understand that UCLA gets in because of the USC suspension, but their conference record and place in the PAC-12 conference is still much higher than where Illinois stood. I was just trying to show you that the BIG is better conference as a whole, not just the top two.