...chance that, by building them up as much as possible, he can then supplant tOSU for them should they beat Michigan soundly.
Expect he is setting that stage for that, should it come to pass, more than anything. Would be tougher scenario vis-à-vis ND without the Head to Head result to stand on.
It's one of the reasons that winning decisively remains important. "Just win baby" is good but, with limited spots available, slots can come down to intangibles. It would be advisable for ND to win handily if possible and for Kelly to run up the score if he has the possibility. Kelly is not prone to do that...which, at some point, will be to his own detriment. Sorry...but that is the system...as Herbstreit and the angst over his stance demonstrate.