With Boise St., Air Force, and San Diego St. as part of a western AAC expansion, BYU's schedule could still look very similar to the status quo. We would still get Boise St. each year, plus frequent games in California, Idaho, and Colorado. Add five games from among ECU, Cincinnati, UConn, UCF, Houston (sound familiar?), and Navy, Memphis, SMU, Tulsa, Tulane, USF, and Temple. That's a decent NATIONAL schedule for BYU. Then, fill it in with four P5 opponents each year and BYU's schedule would be at least the same as the independent schedules, if not better - and BYU would meaningful October and November games, a conference championship to play for, and a clear path to a New Year's bowl game. We would also see flexibility in bowl options.

Even if it were just a scheduling and bowl affiliation - If the AAC included BYU and Army in part of its bowl lineup, I really think BYU could get 4 games in October and November, plus AAC/BYU/Army bowl affiliations with:

Las Vegas (v. PAC)
Armed Forces (v. B1G/Big 12)
Liberty (v. SEC)
Hawaii (v. MWC/PAC)
Poinsettia (v. MWC)

Like the ACC/Notre Dame affiliation, BYU would be eligible for selection as long as within one win of the best available AAC team. The flexibility would give some meaning to the October and November games.