last 4 with USC, won 3 of 4 against UCLA, and 2 of 3 with Stanford.
Utah had 2 great seasons in the MWC but the landscape has changed and Utah got ahead of that by going P5. A middling team doesn't finish 3 out of 4 years in the top 25. A team consistently consistently in the 40s to 60s is middling. The MWC days are irrelevant for comparison to modern college football. The playoff has changed everything.
You've got a stronger argument for bball, but even then Utah has been a top 4 team the last 4 years in the PAC.
You'd be hard pressed to find a Ute fan that isn't loving being P5. The MWC time served its purpose.