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Those teams fans also have a track record of showing up for bowl games and spending boat loads of cash in the community, another reason why they will get the nod over an Oregon or Kansas State.

In this case fan support etc had nothing to do with it.

As Mike pointed out, the rules mandated all the team picks this year. The six conference champions got automatic bids (that's why FSU is in there). For the two at-large slots, the picks were mandated. If Notre Dame (or any "other" D-1 independent) is in the top 6, they must get a bid. Any team that did not win its conference but is in the top 4 must get a bid. As OSU was #4, that cemented their bid.

So it wasn't a matter of snubbing anybody this time. We all may quarrel with the rules, but they were applied as written.