Regarding this years scheduling is all about the fear of this pandemic. These decisions impact BYU, and will continue to do so if it turns out that the season gets scrapped due to contagion.
Fear is a big motivator. All we can do as fans is wait this out.
Conference or no conference, there is a solid chance that after a couple of games, there will be no season left for anyone once cases hit players. Not the choice of many fans, but schools are not fans. They are administrators.