Interesting topic that juxtaposes the costs and benefits of both an easy schedule and a harder schedule.
IMO it's logical Collins would be excited about the schedule for several reasons:
First is the excitement and exposure for the program. While ND isn't a perennial top 5 program like Clemson and Cesspool, it draws a major television audience and puts butts in the seats like those programs do. When you are building a program any opportunity to get your message out there is good. And we recruit many of the same guys ND does d/t good academics. Second, playing the best is a major selling point for recruits: if you come to GT you get to compete against the best competition to show both yourself and NFL scouts what you can do. And playing against the best will prepare you for the League. Third, you don't have to worry about strength of schedule/getting into the playoffs. Run the table and you're in. There are only so many programs that can say that.
Of course there are reasons a coach might want to play patsies. If you were on the hotseat you might want them to jack up your win total. Or if you are already an established contender with a reasonably tough schedule and need breaks to get healthy, rest some starters, and build more depth then you welcome the patsie-type games. Or if you need to build confidence/get reps against lesser competition to tune up, that's also a benefit. Of these though, the only one that really applies to GT is this last one.
With respect to your final question and comment regarding the ACC Coastal, I do feel it makes a big difference in SOS to add ND. First, is physical wear and tear. Nobody else in the Coastal plays Clemson, Cesspool, and ND. Those are very deep teams with size and a plethora of big, mature bodies that come after you in waves. Second, Clemmons is an ACC game and playing them each year makes a big difference relative to other teams. Third, the ACC Coastal isn't considered lowly because it has several cellar dwellars; the Coastal gets no respect because it has no marquee team and has a lot of parity between its schools. But who within our division is an easy "W"? Nobody. There are no breaks.
For me personally I think the positives of adding ND for a team in our position by far outweighs the negatives. And taking down one of these "Big 3" would be awesome!