This is a really unpopular take, but BYU probably wasn't the best team in 1984. But BYU also still deserved to win the national championship in 1984. Because it's based off of results on the field, not off of hypotheticals.

By the end of the 1984 season, Florida was probably the best team. They were rocked by scandal in the off-season, had to change their HC three games in...and in those first three games went 1-1-1 with a loss to #10 Miami. But by the end they were regularly destroying very very good teams. It's likely that if they'd played BYU (or anyone else), they would have won. But they a) weren't eligible and b) did lose those games to start the season. So BYU was the deserving champion and it doesn't matter what the theoretical Vegas line would have been for a BYU Florida game

The Nuggets were probably better than the Mavericks last year, but the Mavericks are Western Conference Champions. Because that's what happened on the court

This is the same reason Florida St should have made the playoffs over Alabama last year by the way. Results (should) matter, more than hypothetical "well I think Team A is probably better".

Was 2008 Utah the best team in the country? I don't personally think so, but it can be argued I suppose
Did 2008 Utah deserve a chance to play for it? 100 percent
Was 2008 Utah the national champion? No. And that's true even IF they actually were the best team