Good distinction. "Play the best" works great behind closed doors or when it doesn't count in the standings. Not so much when it helps ruin multiple seasons.As a hardcore hockey fan, I'm very familiar with this history. I don't think an exhibition schedule BEFORE the 'real games' is a very good parallel to a college football season. Maybe you could argue that the Oklahoma game is a little like the hockey example, if you put all the weight on the conference schedule. ? What you point out is a lot more like a form of practice that is not available in college football.
Its interesting that your example even includes game(s) the coach knew the team would lose. Not sure you can do that in football.
Others may see it differently, but I think wanting to have a more difficult schedule than other divisional teams is foolish. How does building in a competitive disadvantage help?
If/when the program recovers and gets to where we all want them to be, things will take care of themselves and we will end up playing the best in conference title games and bowl/playoff games. But why make the journey more difficult?