Again you cannot compare how they came up with the schedules, because it wasn't the same amount of time.
They were in flux, still campaigning hard to be picked up by better conferences. This past season, they probably started working on schedules immediately after signing the scheduling agreement with the MW. Because it was a bad deal for them, and the nearly entire extra year helped them for this upcoming season.
No one thinks the PAC are geniuses by any means. But your stance that they plenty of other options, but somehow willingly chose their path is just ridiculous. They are paying over 3 times market value for home games, and PAYING for away games where they normally would be getting paid for standard OOC games. Then they sign an agreement that at the very least makes it VERY, VERY difficult to unleash their master plan of poaching our teams. Why do that? If it was so easy to schedule a full slate of FBS teams to keep bowl eligibility. It just doesn't make any sense.
Or.. gasp.. they really didn't have any other option, AND keep bowl eligibility. They can only play 1 FCS level team and still be bowl eligible. Perhaps they were somewhat under duress, because if they weren't, their decision to do the path that they did is the dumbest thing ever.
Sure, I agree that they wanted to expand with MW teams before the agreement. I do think they thought maybe a reverse merger would work, but they would have to boot out certain teams to make financial sense for them, and I am guessing that didn't go anywhere. A reverse merger where they would keep most or all of the War chest was probably something they were willing to do was likely an option for them.
They got absolutely screwed by the PAC, no way around it. That brings some level of sympathy. They fact some some of the most valuable teams in the west coast leave for 6.5 mill a piece absolutely crippling their conference, though the MW is basically asking 29 million a piece for a much less drastic scenario. You can see somewhat where they are coming from.