yet the rest of the games were not as huge as I was expecting especially among the SEC games. It just goes to show that there are about eight teams that run the sport.

As it pertains to the BYU and Utah angle. I agree with what the OP is trying to say that BYU does rate better at night against similar quality teams. During Utah's tenure in the pac-12 they benefited from a Oregon, Washington, or USC type matchup having good ratings. All things equal I do think BYU will outpace Utah.