Wisconsin, PSU, and Auburn are the only ones where the coach has a more "traditional" background working their way up from coordinator to a smaller (Wisconsin is likely on a similar tier to Pitt in theory, but in practice has been far more consistent) HC role before getting a top job, yet all have found ways to win so far. As others have mentioned, many of them have brought in proven assistants too, whether during turnover (Saban), turmoil (Dabo), or to complement their own youth (Riley, Day)
-ND: Kelly had the traditional progression between GVSU, CMU, and Cincy, but was not a coordinator. As discussed previously here, there seems to be some reliance on bringing in old colleagues, although guys like Hiestand and Elko/Lea from outside the core network were a pleasant surprise
-Alabama: Saban is one of the all-time greats and nearly fits the traditional model perfectly between MSU, LSU, and Alabama, but had that bizarre stop with the Dolphins and Mal Moore's brilliant sales pitch. Other than that, it's been a Belicheck-ian run, and they seem to turnover both assistant coaches and great talent yet keep winning.
-Clemson: Dabo has clearly catapulted both himself and the program into elite status, but was also a position coach/recruiter when hired, and was in fact on the ropes before turning it around. On the latter, he deserves credit for bringing in an elite DC in Venables after WVU scored about a thousand on them, and also brought in Morris as OC before the latter moved to what may be a good stepping stone at SMU.
-OSU: Day had a meteoric rise and was mentored by Meyer and Chip Kelly, but also never had been a HC before taking over. Weird circumstances to be sure, but unfortunately looks like he is keeping them on track. While a kid himself, he's brought in veteran assistants like Mattison, Larry Johnson, and Kevin Wilson.
-UGA: Smart has a great background, but also made the DC -> HC jump to an elite program without the quick pit stop at a Vandy, Duke, etc.
-OU: Riley seems very similar to Day at OSU - meteoric rise, strong offensive mind, mentored by quality coaches in Stoops and Leach, weird circumstances (albeit a surprise retirement vs. chaos), but also straight from OC to HC, and thus far looks to be doing a very good job. Also like Day, a veteran coaching staff with guys like Ruffin McNeill, Alex Grinch, Bill Bedenbaugh, and apparently both the younger Gundy brother and Frank Beamer's son (going back to the idea of building networks).
-LSU: Orgeron does check off the Ole Miss -> LSU path, but is such a unique character I don't think he fits any mold. He had interim jobs at both USC and LSU before winning the full time job at the latter, and brought in one of the most highly regarded DC's in Aranda.
As it relates to ND, my biggest question would still be the Kelly/Long playcalling dynamic, and if we can ever commit to the power run game that unleashed Josh Adams onto an unsuspecting world. We are always going to recruit OL, TE, and QBs pretty well, and if we could commit to a decent run game and bring in a home run hitter (optimistic on Tyree), I think we could consistently be on the tier below Alabama/Clemson with most of the teams below plus perhaps UF and UT, although admittedly also behind UGA and OSU for pure talent within this tier.