They get leeway because they've beaten someone good. Technically, if Tennessee loses tonight, the two teams best wins will be about the same. ND beat Georgia Tech, who has only 1 L since that game. ND also crushed Penn State, who played O$U tough and is pretty good in their own right. Purdue's going to a bowl game. Navy's going to a bowl game (obviously not on the same level as the previous ones but worth mentioning). Florida has two wins over currently ranked teams (@Tenn and LSU). ND has one (@GT), but their wins over Penn State and Purdue are more impressive than any of Florida's remaining wins. The Gators, like ND, have looked sluggish against a couple of lesser opponents (@Vandy, SC vs UCLA, @MSU). The two teams are more similar than you can admit.