I don't think the B12 is bad this year. It just doesn't have elite teams. The bottom of the conference is thoroughly mediocre, not awful. There are no Purdues on the schedule. Sagarin actually has B12 as the #2 conference. That's probably not accurate, but it is deep with decent to good teams...
B12 champ doesn't automatically get a bye. Technically the B12 champ doesn't even get a bid. It's the top 5 conference champs in the rankings who get autobids, with the top 4 conference champs getting byes. Say CU drops a game but still wins the B12 (or someone else wins the B12 with 3 losses)...
Most expensive ticket of the week once again is CU, this time for little bro CSU. Gameday, Big Noon Kickoff, First Take, McAfee all doing shows in Boulder this weekend. 60 Minutes also in Boulder for their lead story. Wild shit.