and IMO it isn't even a close 2nd in regard to the UofU. Football "Team" if far different than football "Program". Program strength is much more than how good a football team is; Case and point, how good Notre Dame, Texas or Michigan are year in and year out; those 3 programs are three of the tops in the country, but how good their teams are vary from year to year, decade to decade.

I think far too many on this board take the whole P12 invite Utah got as a reflection of their program. It really had nothing to do with it; it was based on far more than how good a program they have and more on educational institution as a whole, lack of religious affiliation, no Sunday Play restriction etc etc. If you want to look at true football "Program" strength as the measure for inclusion into a conference, BYU would be included above over roughly half of the programs currently in a major football conference. Do Washington State, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Rutgers (just to name a few) really have better football "Programs" than BYU? Nothing against those schools as institutions, but my opinion is that they do not.

Again, my opinion is just that; but I think we as fans need to ease up on the whole "lack of invite to a power conference" as a reflection on the health of the BYU football program. Do I have criticism regarding Head coach decisions Bronco has made during his tenure? Sure I do. Do I feel he has made the BYU football Program better during his tenure - Yes, emphatically Yes.

BYU is one of a very small group of PROGRAMS in the country that could be a very successful independent football school. Could Utah do it? I doubt it; could USU do it? most likely not. Without a conference providing a huge amount of money, most programs in the country would cease to exist at the levels they are today. BYU can thrive as an independent. I have been extremely impressed with TH's ability to schedule games, and the upcoming seasons are only getting better as he's been given time to work on schedules.