Do "we belong in the top 4" is different then "do we belong in the top 2." If ND deserves to be ranked ahead of LSU, Michigan, Georgia, OU, OSU, UCF ..., which I think is the relevant question, then how can it not belong in the top 4?
It seems you regard the possibility of a blowout as disqualifying "belonging." Then would not your fear of a blowout mean that ND did not belong in the 1973 Sugar Bowl against Alabama, since I understand it went into that game as a big underdog?