PROVO — With one program playing several recognizable teams annually at home and the other forced to haphazardly schedule seemingly random teams in its venue each season it is no wonder which program has become more popular.

Utah has surpassed BYU as the most popular college football program in the state, accordingly to a poll conducted by Dan Jones and Associates earlier this month in which 402 Utah residents were asked to choose their favorite local sports team. The Jazz and Utes each tied with 24 percent, followed by BYU football with 20 percent and Real Salt Lake soccer at 10 percent.

The survey has a 5 percent margin of error, potentially changing the results, but the bigger point involves the declining interest in BYU football. The average announced attendance for the six games at LaVell Edwards Stadium was in the 57,000 range, the lowest since the stadium was expanded to 65,000 in 1981, as reported this month in the campus Daily Universe newspaper.

BYU administrators are quick to point out that dwindling attendance is a growing problem in college football, as the Wall Street Journal chronicled last August. But in BYU’s case, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the decreased draw relates to the product.

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With quarterbacks John Beck and then Max Hall, both of whom reached the NFL, from 2006-09, BYU lost only two games at home and always played before packed houses. Since 2010, BYU has strung together a series of disappointing seasons and compiled wins over mostly vastly inferior opponents.

The declining attendance across college football doesn’t explain the increased popularity of the Utes. At the least, obviously Utah has ascended to become the state’s most interesting football program. Certainly, there is a wide discrepancy between each program’s home schedules, particularly in November.

This past season, the Utes went 1-2 at home against nationally ranked USC, Oregon and Arizona. They also lost to Washington State and beat Idaho State and Fresno State.

BYU beat Houston, Virginia, UNLV and Savannah State and lost to Nevada and Utah State at home. As has been the case since becoming an independent four years ago, BYU plays a much more attractive road schedule.

Pac-12 membership has its privileges. While the Utes will continue to play a great slate of home games, including Jim Harbaugh’s first as Michigan’s head coach next season, BYU may struggle to get a representative schedule in Provo.

With all this in mind, the time has come for the BYU administration to strongly consider joining a conference for football. Or maybe it’s time for the Cougars to rejoin a conference, which in this case is the Mountain West.

At the time, considering all the particulars, BYU made the right decision to leave the Mountain West and become an independent. After Utah got lucky to join the Pac-12 and Texas Christian went to the Big 12, BYU had no choice but to bolt the watered-down Mountain West and leave behind the conference’s embarrassing and limited television package.

BYU was wise to team up with ESPN, receiving a good financial deal and getting its games splashed across the cable giant’s channels. At every turn, coach Bronco Mendenhall proudly proclaimed his football team was among the most watched in the country.

But the college football world has drastically changed since then. Surely, there can’t be much exposure in playing UNLV on a late Saturday night in chilly November.

And then there’s the annual argument of what to play for once BYU is saddled with multiple losses. As soon as the Cougars lose, a lot of interest and intrigue vanishes given they are destined to play in a pre-arranged lower-level bowl.

With the new playoff format, which places the best non-Power 5 team in a major bowl, BYU probably would have a better chance to play in one of those games as part of the Mountain West compared to remaining an independent. Boise State got there this year, capping a two-loss season with an impressive win over Pac-12 runner-up Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl.

Before Utah’s popularity grows even more, maybe the time has come for BYU to get back to where it once belonged.

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