Money is as good, likely better.
Gives us more to play for - conference championships, not just everything after the first loss being an exhibition
Helps build better rivals by giving us some continuity of opponents
And I'm not sure the exposure is worse. As it is, we have a bunch of games that mostly BYU fans watch (which doesn't help since they're already fans). Sure sometimes we'll play a Michigan or something and their fanbase will tune in, but they don't really know much about BYU from that short one-off exposure. Playing UCF (or Cincy or SMU or Memphis) each year is a better way to get them to actually be aware of BYU's success and weaknesses in years. Otherwise, nobody pays attention unless we're undefeated and destroying overmatched opponents.