Im on record as saying the MVC needs to go back to a scheduling mandate (and penalty) but you have to give Loyola a little leeway here. Much of the schedule was done before the move to the MVC, and they were not looking at getting an at large no matter who they played.
Rack up the Ws against whoever you can in the non-con, knock off a couple "name" teams in conference, get qualified for the CBI, and hit the recruiting trail with a story to tell. Next year and the year after, start taking the schedule to the next level.
No one else in the valley gets that excuse though.