I think the 8 vs 9 game conference schedule debate is stupid. UF in particular plays FSU every year, and there are other long-established SEC-ACC rivalries. The focus should be on something like 9 P5 opponents, conference or not.
Interesting point about incentivizing FCS opponents. I think part of the reason UF scheduled two softballs in 2017 was to make up revenue for the home games we lost in previous years due to hurricanes. We normally only play 1 FCS team. Anyway, I think I agree with you. I wish the FCS schools would count towards SoS. I think they have to be considered in W/L records, or else we could completely overlook things like Bamas bad performance against Citadel (which we did).