Utah was in the CCG mix (loosely where we are) in 2018 and 2019 and even in the mix for a 4 team playoff in 2019.

They didn't deliver, but had some relevance on the national level. 2020 was a COVID year, so skipped in public consciousness and then they won the conference in 2021 and 2022.

Does that make them a huge brand? Obviously not. But it did get them the benefit of the doubt again this year (excusing their mediocre 2023) and they started highly ranked. Reality is that if Utah had the exact year we've had, they'd probably be ranked #10 or #11. And Utah has had 13.40M viewers so far, whereas BYU has had 10.88M. Because Utah in the span of 5 years established a mini-brand. And it might well be dead after this year, but it shows that one can at least be quickly established.