I don't really disagree with anything you're saying, however, I don't see things as dire as you do. I believe things can be turned around rather quickly. As you rightly assert, the key is winning, particularly getting back to beating Utah on a regular basis.

Imagine what would happen if BYU were to beat Utah this year and win 10 games against what is a very good schedule. That would impress a lot of people, both locally and nationally. What if BYU were able to, finally, beat Utah soundly, by a couple of TDs or more?

I believe that BYU actually has more things working in their favor than Utah does, as long as they start beating Utah and win more games overall than they have the last 5 or 6 years (basically, during the time of the current losing streak):

--The BYU affiliation with the LDS Church will always have a positive affect on kids. All things being equal, a good percentarge, probably a clear majority will choose BYU over Utah. If BYU can re-establish a good track record against the Utes, most will choose to be a Cougar.

--Although being in a P5 conference has a definite influence on recruits, BYU's current scheduling where they play P5 teams all over the country, sometimes in professional stadiums has a definite appeal as well. Couple that with BYU's TV agreement with ESPN, where almost all of their games can be seen nationally, and it's a pretty compelling argument, even compared to the P12 card that the Utes can play.

--Kalani and his coaching staff have already shown that their great recruiters, and that they interact exceptionally well with fans and the media. It was easy for many on the fence to respond negatively to the Bronco persona. It's tough to do that with Kalani. He's so down-to-earth. He relates so well with people on the personal level. Sitting in the ROC with the students, staying until late into the night to sign every last autograph, and other similar things have a cumulative positive impact.

So the key is to win. If BYU can do that, and I'm confident they can, I really believe things can turn around very quickly.