No they are still the biggest powerhouse going today. And those regional conference connections have one thing in mind. and common..$$$$. And ND will always bring them the most money. And if you think ESPN and the TV executives have no say in this you are kidding yourself they do. They don't pay billions to not have an underlying voice on the playoff.
And ND never plays a bad schedule. Let's stop pretending they do. They have USC, Mich St, Stanford every year no matter what. That alone is good enough, then throw in the multiple ACC teams they play per that deal (which they usually get at least one of FSU, Clemson, VT, or Miami once a year) and then mix in the big OOC games they schedule like Georgia this year. ND will NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS have a bad SOS. So let's get back to reality with that.