been a slow process over many years.

1.) BYU helped to revolutionize the game. Others learned from their success and began to throw the ball. Others then learned to defend the pass. Then BYU's system advantage was neutralized and then it came down to who had the better players.

2.) The impact of money in college football. BYU doesn't get as much and BYU has cultural limitations in that world where the unseemly amount of money spent is necessary to compete. While not a specific example but somewhat illustrates the point look at Tom Holmoe's question about Jim McMahon. There are people who care enough about BYU sports to go to a question/answer session with the AD who honestly do not understand why BYU makes a big deal about Jim McMahon. While these folks are a small percentage of the fanbase- they definitely exist and they definitely are an impediment to those of us who are willing to be unseemly in order to win. I was once one of the best posters on this board and I got frequently kicked off because of how the moderators interpreted how the outside world would think of my posts. Trust me, the mentality is much deeper than we realize.

3.) Rise of Utah culminating in Pac membership.

Those are the big 3 IMO.