This isn't hating on the Utes, by the way. It's just reality. Urban brought the program up and Whitt kept it going. But can they hire someone that'll be as successful? Maybe, they have P-4 money. But at a public institution I'd guess that money is hard to hold onto to use for coaches unless that's a priority. Even then you've got to find the right person, and unless it's Whitt 2.0 (someone with local ties) I'm not seeing why someone would take that job over a true blue blood program. Same thing with Boise and Utah State: success is mostly coach-driven, and absent keeping a very good coach, which is hard to do unless you're top tier program, it's hard to keep success going.

So what's our advantage? Without opening a can of worms, I do think the Honor Code (or at least culture) and attracting LDS and non-LDS kids that want something more than just football or even just a college education is a big part of it.