Let’s face it. The problem is evolution of college football. Right now BYU can’t recruit players, yes they are still going to get one to three 4-5 start players every year (mainly LDS players)but other than than their team is full of 2-3 start players. Players that other schools didn’t need (in the case of Wilson) or players that couldn’t keep up with the culture of the school for one reason or another (Francis). 

BYU has great coaches, but coaches don’t play the game, players do. At this point BYU fans need to move to the present. This is not the 90s or the 80s. College football is different today. Independence is not the answer unless you understand that your seasons will be like they have been the last few years. Yes BYU will beat teams like  USC, WISCONSIN, and even UTAH (maybe) every season. BYU doesn’t have the players to do it consistently. The team is not a college football playoff contender and will take a big list for things to take place before this happens, like the SEC,BIG TEN, BIG 12, PAC-12  MT WEST and ACC  to suck so sosososos bad  and BYU goes undefeated for them to get a shot to the playoffs. The shool recruits by different rules and standards and as fans of the school you need to be ok with that. The administration is ok with it (I think).