Clemson has it going now. They can almost guarantee recruits that they'll play in the playoff, every year. They play in a trash, worthless conference with a very low probability of losing a game. Schedule one decent power 5 out of conference game. Win it and you pretty much go undefeated. Add to that with having a 11 game practice schedule all year, you can rest your starters each game and they're not beat up come December. Another bonus is that your backups get meaningful playing time. Plus, they have one of the highest salary caps in college football.