A winning football program helps the Church only if the players are living up to the Honor Code -- the very thing that makes BYU unique. Losing doesn't hurt the Church. Anyone familiar with the Church realizes that the Brethren's primary focus is that the program further the Church's mission. If winning somehow required recruiting players who did not live up to the Honor Code, the Church would get rid of the football program without hesitation. Winning isn't that important. That may upset some of the more spoiled fans, but it's reality.

As for Bronco, he's not going anywhere. He's doing exactly as the Brethren want him to do.

Lastly, anyone critical of this team's lack of success is conveniently ignoring how difficult it is to find great recruits willing to live up to the Honor Code in today's world. Even good LDS athletes have opted not to attend BYU out of fear that they wouldn't be able to live up to the Honor Code. I've counseled four such players in the last five years. Finding a non-LDS player willing to live up the Honor Code is even more difficult. It can happen (for example, wonderful young men like Leslie and Williams), but it's very rare. The rise of the internet has made recruiting even more difficult, with the level of attention given college football and its players heretofore unseen.

In summary, some programs are like magnets to great talent. BYU is not one of those programs for most athletes. Given the changing world and BYU's unchanging mission, BYU is now much more similar to the military academies than to any perennial college football power. Personally, I am very proud to root for BYU, win or lose.