First off the notion that the Big 12 is at a significant financial disadvantage is still very much TBD, and may never actually come to pass.
Outside of idiots like CultAggie, what drives open check books? Conference affiliation or wining? OU is currently well positioned to remain at the top of the Big 12 in both major sports and in multiple minor sports. The excitement of a new conference wears off quickly, winning and trophies and banners last forever.
Oklahoma and Texas aren't going anywhere. Both of them are attached, politically, to other schools in their state, and that will ultimately be a lot of baggage to overcome for little benefit.
I'm all for some form of conference network, but only if it was some sort of future thought like Netflix or some digital partnership with ESPN. As it stands, the individual schools have more flexibility to address how their fans want to access that content, and I think that's ideal.
We are leaving money on the table by not having a CCG. If we really are not taking advantage of a $30 million game in Dallas every year, and each of us are leaving $3 million on the table, that may not be ideal. However, if us having one prevents us from being in the playoff more often than not, maybe that creates a net loss due to how much money we get by being a participant. It's hard to say.
There's never going to be a circumstance that we'll get two teams into the CCG. That was a pie in the sky thought. What is probably true is that it will most likely force Notre Dame to go undefeated to get into the playoff since they'll never have that 13th data point. And if that drives them to join a conference, that's probably the closest thing to a realignment end game that we'll see in the next 20-30 years.