I like that we're playing more teams out west, but why the change? We were playing AAC and MAC teams (usually during or coming off of one of their best seasons in program history, but that's another point) that were relatively close by and could be potential conference mates in the future.
Actually, I just remembered Heilbron is a west coast guy having come from Oregon St. and UCLA, I feel like these might be due to his connections. AFA, Utah St., and Oregon.