The way a program is perceived in college football is everything. If a team is perceived to be great entering a season, it has more room for error. On the other hand, if a team is presumed to be weaker entering the season, they can afford no mistakes. Alabama is a good example of a team that gets a mulligan every season simply because of perception. Right now, the Notre Dame football program falls under the category of unable to afford a mistake.
There was a time when Notre Dame fell under that category of given a mulligan because at one time, the Irish were perceived as annually elite.