By your definition BYU has always been irrelevant because we have never had access to a national championship since the Bowl Alliance was formed to prevent such things from happening.

It is true that Independence theoretically provides a higher ceiling for the program by enabling us to schedule 12 P5s a year and thereby create a schedule difficult enough that going undefeated would get us into the playoff.

But if you think that BYU will ever go undefeated against such a schedule you are living in a fantasy land. It is like holding out for the lottery instead of saving for retirement.