A program whose recruiting classes consistently rank somewhere between 40 and 60 cannot reasonably expect to be ranked in the top 25 with any consistency. It's really that simple...perennial top 25 schools regularly land top 25 recruiting classes.

While I admire your optimism, there's no way around the fact that the honor code is a liability in recruiting the types of football players we would need to be a perennial top 25 team. It's a liability even with a lot of LDS kids. It is one of the reasons I elected not to attend BYU when I was choosing colleges. There's no way around the fact that you can be denied access to the testing center because you didn't shave that morning, and that you can't have hair past the tops of your ears, and that you can be kicked out of school (and off your respective sports team) for things that would have no real consequences (beyond those imposed by your bishop or branch president) at another school. A lot of good LDS kids just don't want to be bothered with that kind of crap.

BYU's resources and facilities are typical of most mid to lower tier P5 programs. Many of our facilities are aging and will need to be replaced or upgraded to remain competitive in the college football arms race. Unless BYU gains membership in a P5 conference, the gap between BYU and those in P5 conferences will only widen.

That we've done it before does not necessarily mean that we can do it again. Lavell Edwards bottled lightning in the late 70's and early 80's. He was a visionary that employed a revolutionary offensive system that allowed BYU to compete with the football powers of the day. Since that time, the game and the landscape of college football has change dramatically. The current system is designed specifically to ensure that schools like BYU cannot compete for national titles and national prominence like it did during the glory days of BYU football. That era was likely an anomaly that will never be replicated. I think BYU may have a special season once every decade or more, but I don't think success at the highest levels can be sustained at a place with the disadvantages that BYU copes with.

My expectations for BYU football are tempered by reality. I think it's unfair to expect BYU to be a top 25 team year in and year out. The Mormon population/demographic in the US simply isn't capable of producing the numbers of high quality, D-1/FBS caliber football players necessary to make BYU a perennial top 25 caliber team. And the honor code and cultural oddness of BYU ensures that we will not be able to attract large numbers of high quality non-LDS players.

I think people who continually expect BYU to be ranked in the top 25 year in and year out are setting themselves up for disappointment. I've gotten to the point that I can enjoy watching BYU football regardless of how good or bad they are. I really only get frustrated when I think the team and the coaching staff aren't doing everything they can to be competitive and exciting.

Edit: As stated in other posts and threads, I DO think the Mormon population/demographic will eventually (within two or three decades) be capable of producing the types and numbers of athletes BYU needs to be one of the top football teams in the west (it should be noted...I think the Mormon population is already at the point that it can produce the types and numbers of athletes necessary to make BYU a perennial top 25 hoops team).