To compete for a conference championship, you have to have a great season. To battle for the College Football Playoff, you need to be special. To win a national championship, you have to be exceptional, and it never hurts to have a little luck, too.
One of those breaks, sometimes, is a schedule that shapes up a little easier than expected. Yes, if a team runs a gauntlet of difficult opponents and gets through relatively unscathed, it can make it battle-tested late in the season. But it also doesn't hurt when you only have to get up for a few games a year.