I agree & disagree with that article.
I agree that averaging 10 wins a year like OSU, Bama, etc is not realistic for ND, but not for why he says.
Schedules determine why those teams have guaranteed 10 wins & ND doesn’t.
Those teams don’t leave their region (often times their state) the first month of the season. Then play their conference in region, mixed in a bad FCS opponent & a low level FBS team.
They play 2-3 games a year that are competitive.
This past season Bama won 10 FBS games & made the playoff. They played 3 ranked teams, (one that ND beat) & lost handidly to one of them.
ND played 7 ranked teams. Tied for most wins against top 25. ND played in Florida one week, then home against a triple option team, then out in California the next.
ND has never played a FCS team (1 of 3 schools who haven’t).
If ND had a schedule like the “elite” it would look like this:
Opening month don’t leave Indiana, except for maybe a “neutral” game in Chicago.
Ball State
Purdue
Indiana
Indiana State
Then start the “ACC schedule” of 5 games with a FCS game snuck in.
No more trips to California.
Navy immediately after playing FCS school who runs option.
Mix in MSU or UM every other 2 years.
So you start off 6 wins to inflate your ranking. Then get to 10 without much effort after mixing in the FCS game & Navy. Basically you play 3-4 games that are competitive & you probably are favored in all of them.
10-2 or 11-1 like clockwork depending on how the 1-2 “Big Ones” go each year.
You can schedule 10 wins. Ask Washington.