We are just rolling in four and five star recruits, knocking on the door of the playoffs every year, making a name for ourselves.

Kids want to win championships, and it doesn't help recruiting when you can't win any championship at all. Full stop. This also contributes to anemic play. Basic behavioralist theory explains this, quite well and, along with coaching, helps explain our inconsistent performance.

I think it is interesting that BYU fans are so insistent on how amazing independence is when our football program is clearly in a worse spot competitively now then pre-independence. And you can point at programs who are making a name for themselves by being the big fish in the small pond. Boise is a perfect example. UCF, USF, Houston. Even USU is becoming a household name by following the same strategy.

But we are content to ride off into the college football sunset... at least we will be on national TV while we do it.