I think it comes down to a couple of things:
1 - Talent gap
2 - Mindset

Talent
- We already know that BYU will not consistently get the top recruits out there. Our pool is limited with the honor code. At the top of the NCAA you will find bigger, faster and stronger guys. Our top guys can compete with ALMOST everyone, but when it comes to the elite teams, we will struggle to get over the top. Our lack of depth will hurt us late in games and late in the season with Must Win games.

Mindset
- It takes a STRONG mindset to win critical games. We do win big games, but there's another level you have to go to when you HAVE TO WIN. From coaching to playing, studying championship coaches, there is another level of focus that is needed. Back before the Utah game, I started making comparisons to 2001 and prepared my boys for a collapse. Why? That is what we do. We are predictable. We get caught up in the hype, the media, and lose focus on the task at hand. The same happened in 2008 when we were ranked top 10, FSU came to town and whooped us. BYU plays best as an underdog. We struggle to know how to run from the front. Hence the collapse again this year when the title game was ripe for the taking. I really think the team expected to win the last couple of games, but we were either too emotionally drained from "Overachieving" already, or our focus was around the "Results" and not the task at hand, and the fight it took to get us there.