I cannot see the benefit of scheduling teams we will beat the living crap out of. It is meaningless to us, and cruel to the team being annihilated on the field. Sure, they go home with a nice paycheck, but as a salty old coach of ours once remarked, "It was like clubbing baby seals."
SMU is fine as an opponent. In Amon Carter. Hell, cut them a check for travel expenses, but traveling to Dallas is for the birds. Otherwise, let them go and play in Gainesville, or Tuscaloosa, or Baton Rouge in week two. Doesn't cost us a thing. They'll heal. Eventually.
To wish to upgrade things isn't arrogance, it's business. There isn't a casual fan out there who gives a parboiled crap about buying tickets and driving an hour to sit in traffic to see Tarleton State have their heads bashed in. Get an opponent with a pulse, someone who we can at least gauge ourselves against. May not be the most compelling matchup of the week, but it beats having, say, Incarnate Word.