If we win 20-17 in 2OT against USF, then it's not a good sign for the season moving forward.
If we win 56-0, it's a sign that we might be as good as we hope.
If the rest of the season played out the same after those 2 performances, I wouldn't care about it. But struggling with USF doesn't give me a lot of confidence for games against Baylor, Oregon, Notre Dame and Arkansas. Or even Boise St or Utah St.
That's why I didn't mention MOV as something that matters, but priority 2 is putting together a strong performance (of which MOV is often an indicator)