Yeah, I agree recruiting is the biggest advantage, bit not because you are near a singular recruit but because any recruit who casually follows games turns it on NYD and sees UM. And that you can also sell other recruits that if they come to UM, even if they have a blah year, you'll get to play in marquee games over more deserving teams. It's a self fulfilling prophesy for helmet teams. They get their continued excellence aided by their name, results be damned.
That's what bugs me most of all is the disadvantage going forward. You try to sell a recruit, and you beat UM, and try to plug that, and UM can counter with the fact that it doesn't matter because you'll play in a more marquee postseason game anyway, even with a worse season and a head to head loss.
It's why the fact that MSU has dominated head to head for a decade is all the more shocking. UM still has every built in advantage.