I will still be for a tougher non conference schedule. Better games to go see. Real measuring sticks. Real draw for recruits (don't think they don't know the quality of opponents a team schedules). Brohm has stated from the beginning the plan is for a tougher pre-conference schedule. If you schedule patsies to open the year you get the same thing.....Let's see if this sounds familiar: start out 3-0 or 4-0, lose almost all of your big10 games (except maybe Rutgers and Maryland) because you aren't ready to play a full 4 quarters against big OL and DL.
Going to a 3rd bowl game in a row would be big, but as we saw in our debacle of a bowl game last year it isn't everything. Maybe virtually scheduling a bowl bid will help IU gain momentum making it the right call, but I still think 1 tough game would help move the program forward in the LONG TERM.
Even if we go 1-2 or 0-3 out of the gate I still like playing real football teams. I think it isn't until actually the NEXT level of football for either of our programs you schedule patsies. When 1 loss can derail your season because you are playing for something meaningful.
And if you are looking to put butts in seats, scheduling interesting games is the way to go. I can only go to a few games a year, and I NEVER go to see the weak opponents. What's the draw? Yawn, we won. I would much rather go watch Wisconsin or OSU even though the win chances are small. It's big time football regardless.
I think the link below shows Brohm's desire for better or for worse to scheduling decent pre-conference teams.
https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/purdue/