I think it’s incorrect to say it’s “little brother” ish of us to prefer a 7-6 season, but beating Utah and keeping them out of the conference championship game. The reason why?

Recruiting.

Can you imagine the recruiting boost Utah would get if they won the big 12 and went to the playoff? That would put BYU at a major disadvantage, much worse than where we already are. When whittingham retires, Utah will gradually regress back to being a mediocre program. But if he takes them to the playoff and has a bye through the first round, that will propel them through any transition phase. That will pump up scalley as a head coach and keep Utah as a “powerhouse”. If we were able to keep them out of the championship game, we’d be saving ourselves from a lot of recruiting headaches.