"I do believe the BCS was designed to keep (the national championship) in the power conferences," said Robert Anae, BYU's current offensive coordinator and an offensive lineman on the '84 team. "The question is, do you believe a team from a non-BCS school will win a national championship? I do believe it can be done.

"There are very difficult structural barriers to overcome. But if you can put together more than one undefeated season in a row, you can play for a national championship. It's a much harder road (for non-BCS teams), but I do believe it is possible."

In 2004, the Utes became the first non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl game when they received an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl against an 8-3 Pittsburgh squad. Utah earned a convincing 35-7 victory.

Yet the Utes, who finished the season ranked No. 4 in the AP poll that year, were one of three undefeated teams that season, along with No. 1 USC and No. 2 Auburn — making it difficult for them to lay claim to the national championship.

Of the three local unbeaten teams, Utah's '04 squad was by far the most dominant from start to finish, winning every game by at least two touchdowns. Both the '84 Cougars and '08 Utes had their share of close, dramatic games that could have gone either way.

In '04, though, there was plenty of pressure on the Utes, given that they were the first non-BCS school to bust the BCS bowl system. A loss to Pitt would have been devastating to not only them, but the rest of the non-BCS teams. A loss may have prevented future non-BCS teams from getting their shot at glory.

Utah entered the game with co-head coaches, as Urban Meyer had already taken the Florida job and Whittingham had been hired to lead the Utes. Meyer's personality and persona — and future success with the Gators — may have minimized the Utes' accomplishments in '04 in the eyes of some observers.

But the '08 Utes proved it was no fluke.

Of the three local unbeaten teams, "the '04 Utes had the biggest impact," said ESPN.com college football writer Ivan Maisel. "Their win gave credence to the leagues without automatic bids and paved the way for the public to believe that the standards to get an automatic bid should be lowered.

"The BYU team made history, of course, but I'm not sure what impact they had beyond Provo. It made the Cougars a national power in that time. As for this (Utah) team, it remains to be seen."

Like the '84 Cougars, the '08 Utah team wasn't ranked in the preseason. The '08 Utes played the toughest schedule of the three local unbeaten teams, with wins over four teams that ended up ranked in the final AP poll — TCU, BYU, Oregon State (which was the only team to defeat USC) and Alabama.