The whole conversation is tilted.
As long as we keep a decent B1GOT team on the schedule, and MSU qualifies, we are good.
There is truth to the fact that UM needs us more than we need them.
There is also truth that it took their fire drill towards the end of the series to realize it. (Read this as no one claims that UM admin, and fans are smarter.)
And that is correct that UM has lived on the strategy of a couple of decent games, and an overall weak schedule for decades. Witness Bo's inability to win the bowl games for what? 19 out of 20?
The fact of the matter is that a UM - ND matchup only benefits UM. It cuts down one decent regional game that ND could schedule. Since the days of 3 B1GOT teams a year are over, and ND seems to be playing the cream of the ACC, in addition to non-conference games like Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia, why does ND need Michigan?
The simple and complex answers are : They don't!