I think its a pretty apt comparison. Perhaps it is meant as a slight, but I think it's pretty close to reality. Texas Tech is a lower-tier P5 team that still performs well enough to be there.
Utah isn't the Indiana of the P12, or the Wake Forest of the P12. I think they'll always be in the lower-to-middle third of the P12 on average. Given the geographic disadvantages Utah has, that isn't bad.