If they lose early even to WCU, it won’t matter much as long as they finish fairly strong. SOS is pretty overrated now. Look at Missouris schedule. It’s weak but if they finish strong they are in the playoffs.
No continuity from year to year hurts your team. Rome wasn't built in a year, any coach with common sense knew he wasn't going to compete for anything meaningful in two to three years. But Prime's ego had him believing his own hype.