Otherwise you also have to extend that biased thinking to the Big 12 and why they were trying to hold BYU down by taking TCU over BYU

TCU and Utah were largely invited to P5 conferences because they consistently won over an extended period of time at an unreal level, including against higher-level competition and in high-profile (read BCS) games

UTAH: In the 8 seasons before Utah joined the PAC12,
they won 78.2% of their games,
including 73.9% against AQ conferences
and 80% against non-AQ and
finished in the top 5 twice.

TCU: In their 7 MWC seasons before going to the Big 12, TCU did even better,
winning 85.6% of their games,
including 80% against AQ opponents
and 87% against non-AQ
and finished in the Top 10 four times.

BYU (from MWC era): In their 7 MWC seasons before Indy, BYU
won 69.3% of their games,
including 45% against AQ opponents
and 76.5% against non-AQ
and with 0 top 10 finishes (although 3 in the top 15).

Over the last decade before our invite (2011-2020) as an independent BYU
won 60% of their games
including 39.5% against P5
and 71.4% against G5
with one #11 finish

Definitely good, but also not at the same level as Utah and TCU before they moved up. And before we talk about the tougher schedule, it's worth noting that BYU had 17 P5 victories over that 10 years.... the exact same number of (AQ) wins that Utah had in an only 8 year span before going PAC12. The only difference is that Utah did that in 23 games, losing only 6. BYU did it in 43 opportunities, losing 26.  This season obviously helped in that regard, but still leaves us at 23-27 against P5 over 11 years (or 2.09 wins per year, just behind Utah's average of 2.125 before getting the call

Bottom Line:  Utah and TCU were added because they forced the issue with their play on the field. BYU has taken a step in that direction, but also benefitted from the Big 12 being put in a desperate situation. Which is fine - I'll take it no matter how we get in. But it also seems inaccurate and conspiracy-minded to claim there was absolutely no way that Utah could have been perceived by anyone as stronger at the time than BYU.