I think this news is a positive for OSU.
It seems to me that the current landscape is untenable. The SEC is set to make significantly more than all other conferences. This means the SEC’s position improves every season the rest of college football does nothing. Of course, the big names outside the SEC were going to respond.
Option A: They could join the SEC to form one mega conference. Today’s news could have been USC/UCLA to join the SEC, which would have been the worst possible news for OSU. This is because, in a vacuum, OSU offers nothing (viewership, recruits, etc.) to the SEC that OU doesn’t already provide.
However, by going to the BIG, the power brokers of the PAC have chosen…
Option B: Form a viable competitor to the SEC. This is a much better scenario for OSU, because we offer plenty (viewership, recruits, etc.) to the BIG that they don’t already have. In an arms race between the SEC and BIG, it’s not inconceivable that one would find value in OSU - either to access a premier program in this region or to prevent the BIG from accessing it.
Although this is a positive, I wouldn’t hold your breath for an an invite anytime soon. What OSU needs to do is keep winning games, keep building its national image and be ready if/when those two conferences want to expand.