That's a lot that could be parsed over a few beers. ND's ball and chain is its ACC connection...

The legacy ACC Powers Clemson, FL State, VA Tech have fallen off the table. Yes, ND was not scheduled against them this year, but Miami is. Given the current weakness of the legacy Elite ACC programs, Miami's wins against them don't mean squat related to demonstrating its organic competitive position. That ND is -5.5 for the Miami game validates that.

As always, I'll invite a bar fight over the beers by opining that ND should drop Navy and replace it with a competitive SEC or Big10 game. The weakness of the ACC almost demands that.