Admittedly I don't follow college football all that much, especially Utah football. But from what I do see, their legendary coach is past his prime and they don't have anyone waiting in the wings to take his place. The protégé they were probably hoping would be the replacement is instead eclipsing him as the "now" coach in the state, and looking more like a lifer at the rival school than someone they can entice back when the time comes. A lot of his other best coordinators have been older mentor types also past their primes.

I think when Whittingham retires or is pushed out (which would likely be a mistake), Utah will have to try to find an Urban Meyer type who can bring in his own culture and success, I don't think there's someone waiting in the wings capable enough. I also think it's much more likely they get a Boyle or 70K type who leads them back to mediocrity than an Urban Meyer type.

The resurgence of BYU, including an invite to a peer conference, has also come at an inopportune time for Utah. I imagine BYU will grab 3-4 good players per year that they would have gotten the way things were this past decade. They tried their best to bury BYU, and for a while it looked like they were succeeding. But BYU should have broken the losing streak earlier, and emphatically broke it the same week they got the best program news they've ever had. BYU has been finding its stride and will be their match or better for the foreseeable future.