I'm in a fairly unique position here as a BYU fan that also likes Utah and follows them more than most BYU fans.
And so, the context as a BYU fan absolutely points to this being a dig on BYU. But the context as a Utah fan who has listened to Whittingham take every (even tangential) opportunity to discuss this over the last year plus makes it clear it's just a pet topic of his.
I think that's why there's such disagreement on this, because the two fanbases are coming from different perspectives and experiences
https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=31462406