success has been Whittingham being able to play many of the same PAC12 teams year in and year out whereas Bronco and then Kalani had to deal with the hecticness of being an independent.
When real big boy football started much of the PAC12 hasn't been ready for it.
If BYU had been in the B12 prior to 2020 then the craziness which was Coastal Carolina would've never happen. I think independence prepared BYU for P4 football though. Independence forced BYU to work harder.