I think pollsters are giving more credit to BYU in 2020 than they would in a "normal" year for two reasons:

1) there has simply been more media coverage of BYU because the B10/Pac/MWC weren't playing. There is a good chance pollsters have watched much more BYU than they would have in other years when their time was split between more teams. It has also helped that most of the time in 2020, BYU has not just beaten their opponent, they have dominated.

2) it has been pretty widely publicized that BYU's initial schedule included many teams perceivied as being difficult and several P5 teams; I think BYU is getting more of a pass for their scheduling in 2020 because they are seen as literally doing the best they can with the hand they were dealt after trying to arrange a very competitive schedule. If we schedule like this in a normal year, I don't think we are in a NY6 or playoff discussion at all.