I fully agree that for these teams and more specifically this season for these teams this is being over emphasized as critical. I'd be pretty shocked if both don't end up in the cfp and likely the semi-finals or in a semi-final match up.
That said, right now, broad strokes, its hard to argue that two teams are on a better trajectory. One could reasonably add Oregon and Georgia into the mix for the 4 best programs in the country currently. Given that reality, both teams lost similar amounts of talent to the NFL and both start new QBs. Plus it's a massive match-up of 1 vs 2 in the "first" weekend of the year. So which team can reload faster between the two best programs in the country has never, in my recollection, ever occurred the first game of the year. When you add the massive Arch question into the mix it's going to feel absolutely enormous, not only for the fans of the respective teams but for all lovers of college football. Just a few years ago losing 1 game could eliminate you from even competing for the national championship, and that reality echoes in the college football mind.