So if 2001 was our last best chance season, that means the '96 Cotton Bowl is twice as far to us now than it was to '84 National Championship.

Honestly that feels about right. However, look at the G5 teams since 2014 who have made it to a NY6. They did have some two loss teams, but most of them played one (some times two) P5 teams.

Fact of the matter is playing weak schedules can get you into a NY6. Winning said weak schedules is also key. BYU has not done, nor in my opinion currently, do both.