They extended their winning streak to 24 straight games...

http://cougarstats.com/1983.html
http://cougarstats.com/1984.html

They finished top 7 in back to back seasons http://cougarstats.com/rank/polls.html

And ended ranked #16 in 1985 http://cougarstats.com/1985.html

They opened 1984 with a win against the pre-season #3 team (doesn't matter if other injuries/circumstances caused them to end up out of the polls - this generates excitement) for the first live CFB broadcast ever on ESPN.

Also people poo-poo the game against Michigan just because of their record but there was a lot more to that record. http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=6829552

And Washington didn't even win their conference - if they did they would have played in the Rose bowl and not the Orange bowl...or they could have accepted the Holiday bowls invite, beaten BYU and won a title...

Each of Utah's great seasons were flash in the pans in comparison to 1984. Where was the success/high rankings in back to back years? It is rare for any team to go from no ranking one year to national champs the next. This is were a "program" is defined...not just on good single seasons 4 years a part.