Utah got in by being the non-byu mountain west region alternative to partner with Colorado.

I don't hate Utah. I'm not saying that to bash the team. They've had more high profile wins than BYU and a head to head advantage over BYU for more than a decade. I don't believe they "won their way in" however. They put themselves in the conversation with a #1 draft pick and 2 BCS teams, but BYU is in the conversation without either of those. They're just on the wrong side of the conversation as a private religious institution that doesn't "fit in" with the traditional conference model.

"just win baby" isn't a legitimate path to conference inclusion. Its about relevance as an independent.