And yet you can forgive a team not winning its conference, or even winning its division?
It's pretty simple: One team won its 7-team pool AND won its 14-team pool with its body of work for the year... the other team failed to win its 7-team pool and failed to win its 14-team pool... and you think the second team is more deserving of entering the 4-team pool? The divisions and conferences matter far more than a single loss.
Further, the FCS charter literally says that a conference champion must be chosen above a non-champion unless the non-champion's body of work is vastly superior. Alabama's is not. They played a weaker schedule, and they looked mostly unimpressive for all of November.
Bama's last 4:
failed to cover the spread at home against LSU, by 7.5 pts;
down 24-17 to MSU in the 4th;
2 turnovers to cupcake Mercer;
only 103 yds passing, only 3-11 on 3rd down, only 1-4 on 4th down in getting manhandled by 3-loss Auburn).
OSU's last 4:
destroyed #16 MSU 48-3;
destroyed Illinois (16 yds passing for the game, 1-12 on 3rd down);
handily won one of the biggest rivalry games in college football (UM vs OSU);
racked up 449 yrs against the #1 NCAA defense (in ypg, 253.2) to win the conference title.
There is only one clear choice.
I would have put UCF in.
But, putting OSU would have been an embarrassment. And, the BCS selection committee agreed.