I went to the Rose Bowl and was working for the UK Radio Network in 1998. I’ve always been adjacent to Utah athletics.
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Majerus forgot the rotations that got him to the finals. I still contend that if he didn’t panic and leave his starters in longer than their normal rotations, we win that game. And this is 25+ years of IT experience talkin… wait. 
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I have a friend who watches the Utes because he’s a good friend and he wants to try enjoying and sharing this thing I so love. He’s relatively new to college football and is not burdened with the history of it. For example, he has no idea that teams like Nebraska, Texas, Florida St, or Tennessee, just to name a few, are big time brands. He’s oblivious to the facts of Utah’s place in the big picture.
He once asked me, what would it take for Utah to climb to the top and be like Clemson or Alabama? I told him it would never happen. It’s not pessimism, but it seemed obvious we’ll never be on those program’s level. This was in 2015, things in my mind have changed. I still don’t believe we could sustain such a high level, but I now believe we could reach it for a year here or there. Even so, the tingling in my gut remains, and it’s telling me a swift kick in the nuts is imminent.
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I agree. I also maintain that if Robbie Reid had transferred to Utah, we win that game. The Utes only lost because Andre ran out of steam and Jordie McTavish wasn’t going to maintain the pace Andre set. Robbie Reid would have given the needed rest in the 2nd half.
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It’s wild to hear but people don’t realize Ohio State has only won two titles in 50 years. The same as Georgia and Auburn. You have teams like Clemson, LSU, Miami and others who’ve won 3 or more but they are only a handful. Utah def could be a brand that competes for a title every year and win as often as the Buckeyes.
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Ohio State also only has 2 losing seasons in the last 50 years. I would love for Utah to have a national championship to match each losing season.
Also, Ohio State doesn’t really have any competition and they’re in one of the largest states. A lot can change over time, but Utah has a long way to go before we’re in this conversation.
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College Football is way too big to be judging these things by titles alone. 130+ teams and only 4 get an opportunity to win it all, that will never pan out legitimacy. Ohio State (IMO) is a better program than any of the 5 you mentioned. They just don’t seem to have the frequencies of lows those other programs do. This of course is only my perception, I have not researched it in depth.
Miami is one team that stands out on your mentions. They seem more like a flash in the pan than a true blue blood, Miami in the 80’s is a good example of what I believe Utah could come close to, without all the side show B.S. though.
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Also, helps that two losing seasons when in that 50 year time only one other team had a National Title, Michigan. One time and it was a split one. The Big 1G is the most overrated conference on the planet.
Again, depth of the conference is very shallow.
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The University of Miami sits on top of what was a mosquito-infested swamp where criminal went to hide from the law.
Kind of like they do now. 
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Yeah, but the clubs are cool and they had a really cool 30 for 30. lol
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The Big10 and SEC are very similar in their depth.
Big10
OSU was king but Michigan knocked them off the throne.
Sparty, great season as they do this on occasion
Iowa, Wisconsin, very good years by usually good teams, especially Wiscy.
Penn St, usually great.
Minn, NW, IU, Terps, Purdue, inconsistent but respectable teams.
Nebraska, a slumbering giant, a defeated dragon, or somewhere in-between?
Rutgers, Illinois, Mac level almost always.
SEC
Bama was king but Georgia knocked them off the throne.
Ole Miss, great season as they do this on occasion.
A&M, Florida, Auburn mixed bag year by usually good teams.
LSU, usually great.
Tennessee, a slumbering giant, a defeated dragon, or somewhere in-between.
UK, MSU, Mizzou, Cocks, Hogs, inconsistent but respectable teams.
Vandy, Sun Belt level always.
The SEC is slightly better but not so much as to explain away OSU’s success in the BIG10, I won’t even get into the ACC/Big East affiliations of the other teams you mentioned. Ohio State is an all time top 5 program regardless of total titles. When they expand the playoffs we can start measuring teams by titles, but up until now the N.C. has been plagued by a variety of subjective selection processes.
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That game still troubles me. I don’t think Majerus ever recovered. Be was never the same. Keep in mind that the backup center from the previous season, Ben Melmeth, transferred. He was serviceable and would have given Doleac some much-needed rest. Sigh.
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Yeah, they got one of those clubs in Provo - a place where you can get a beer then get in a brawl. The difference? Provo will call BYU campus security and have them check to see if you are a registered student.
Provo has an “honor code” enhancement to misdemeanors. 
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I don’t see Penn State usually great since the 1980s. Never made the playoff or BCS. In fact only one team has been since the BCS and that’s Ohio State. Compare that to Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and LSU who have all won titles since Michigan won a split. Iowa, Wisconsin,
Now let’s discuss tier 3. UK has won 4 straight bowls (one over Penn State and one over Iowa). They’ve had two 10 win seasons in that time period. I’d easily put them in your tier 2.
I am not really going to go deeper knocking on this topic because we obviously disagree but head 2 head and National Title contenders prove they aren’t similar in depth. 6 teams since 1999 to win a title to 1 should be enough to prove there isn’t the same depth.
I’d say LSU, Georgia, and Alabama are better programs than Ohio year in and year out the past 5 years.
But tOSU during Urb’s time was a runaway #1…on filling up the police blotter.
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You keep clinging to the BCS and the limited playoff as viable measuring sticks, they are not.
Those institutions are totally compromised by subjectivity, and propaganda. As for bowl wins, those are situational. The only way to truly determine depth would be through years of consistent scheduling and competition between the conferences.
All we’re left with is perception, as a fan of a SEC team you have an obvious bias in yours. I am a fan of a PAC12 team and do not share this bias. From my outside perspective, I see the SEC as a slightly deeper conference than the BIG10, but not to the degree that would diminish Ohio St.'s greatness as compared to the other teams you originally mentioned. If I am to discount their success by the measure you suggested I would have to apply the same standard to any of the other teams you mentioned, the differences are too similar.
You do realize dudes from the Midwest run the propoganda machine, right? Not many journalists coming out of the SEC. You are right though. I cling to Bowls, Head 2 Head, Championships and talent going to the NFL.
Here is the crazy thing… I actually think the Pac 12 and Big 12 are deeper than the Big 10. As a region it also produces less talent. It’s ok we disagree though. That is what makes it fun.
In fact since 2018 the Big 10 is 4-8 against both the SEC and Pac 12 in H2H matchups. The SEC has a winning record vs all conferences since 2018. Pac 12 has a losing record against Big XII and ACC but that’s minimal games and a winning record vs the big 10. That said, I may be wrong but the numbers, recruiting rankings, NFL draft and titles say different. I am not an SEC SEC SEC guy. I root for the destruction of all our conference opponents. I wish we packed depth.
In HS, we had a pretty good tennis team. Some teams would put there #8 player at #1 and slide everyone else down to be somewhat competitive (we called this stacking and it was frown upon but still done - they could just forfeit the top spot too). I kind of feel that’s how the SEC and B1G are. If you took the worst B1G team or two and had them play the top SEC team or 2 and then stack ranked everyone else, it would be pretty even. With Texas and OU joining, if feels like that is a solid 2 spot difference. Year to year, things change.
Example (program to program):
Rutgers is sacrificed to Alabama
Ohio St. - UGA = pretty even
Michigan - LSU (not this year, but program wise) = pretty even
etc.
Actual teams would vary, but to me SEC seems ‘1-2 teams better’.
There’s also something to say about the top teams and the bottom teams. Pac12 seems to not have as high of top and not have as low of bottom teams (conference of cannibals). I kind of feel Big12 is similar in that regard, especially without OU, but other teams deliver (like this year), but KU always sucks.
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Here. Just look at the talent composite. The Pac 12 is superior to most but the SEC:
Y’all’s conference is the future juggernaut. The talent out west is stronger than the Midwest.
Hometown or locale has never ran the propaganda machine in CFB, money runs it, money has no hometown.