Delany may well have a lot of influence with the CFP committee for all we know. But Dooley gave an excellent analysis showing that any influence was not needed. If anything, if one of the "One" "True" "Champion" of the Big 12 deserved to get in, it should have been at the expense of FSU.
We will never know, but I think that if TCU beat Baylor in the Big 12 CCG, Ohio State was still going to the playoffs.
I won't defend FSU. They looked primed for a curb stomping in the playoffs.
I have a problem with a conference game deciding whether a conference team goes to the playoffs. Everyone in the stadium for the Big 10 Championship Game, including Wisconsin, knew that the best thing for the league would be for Wisconsin to be blown out. Did Wisconsin throw the game? Probably not. Did Anderson? Probably not. Is it warped to have that game be decisive? Absolutely.
I would like to see more games between teams that benefit from winning rather than benefit from losing. Conference schedules should be 6 games, and the P5 teams should play 3 or 4 games against other P5 opponents. 9 game schedules are a bad idea, because it just makes the incentive problem worse. This is like asking someone to beat their boss in a 3 on 3 game at the company picnic.
Basketball avoids this problem because so many teams make the tournament, and there are so many bubble teams, that there is a bigger incentive to win in intraconference games than in football. That said, the selection committee has made a mockery of the regular season and the process the last two years with some of its bid/no bid decisions.