They just need to win games. If they do that, they'll get someone into the playoff, if they can manage that once or twice in two or three seasons, they'll be relevant again. It's really not that complicated.

Utah was one game away from making the playoff, and they weren't all that awesome that year. For all the talk about the Pac12 not getting any attention/respect, if Utah had won against Oregon, they likely would have made the playoff with one loss. If a team like USC makes it through a season with only 1 loss, they will almost certainly make the playoff. If you are respected enough to get a team in the playoff, what more respect do you really need?