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Your point about prep time is the key here by ndzippy

Given extra time to prepare, great coaches tend to be really hard to beat. Meyer and Saban are great coaches. Brian Kelly is not a great coach. Even if the talent is similar (and I'm not sure it is if we're talking about impact players), the coaching gap is so pronounced that it's hard to imagine ND keeping up for long.

Frankly, that's why we should care as much about our seed as we do about just getting in to the playoffs. If you're going to get one of these guys, it's much easier in round 2 of the playoffs, because they won't have a month to pick you apart. I'd prefer to play Clemson in Round 1 and take my chances with Bama and/or OSU in Round 2.

Consider this: In the last three years, Bama is 3-0 in Round 1, and has won by an average score of 29-4. In Round 2, Bama is 2-1, with an average score of 35-31.

Saban with a month to prepare is almost impossible to defeat.