All of these are fine, but I'm going to vehemently disagree with #4.
Before you even bother reading the rest of my post...answer this: Why are you playing this game?
Now, before I rant...let me say that I do understand scheduling a couple of cupcakes when you first take over at a D3-D1AA program. You do need to raise your vision and that only happens with wins. However, after two seasons, there's no reason why you can't start scheduling real opponents.
With those two qualifiers out of the way, let's begin.
There are plenty of games that allow you to set the skill level to "rookie" or "freshman" and you can just beat up on the computer all day. The great thing about GD is that there are hundreds of other coaches. All have different philosophies, all have different backgrounds, all have different personalities. What's fun about playing 4 or 5 SIM's every season? If that's what you desire, just go play EA Sports.
Secondly, you aren't proving anything to anyone by scheduling crappy opponents. You went 12-1? Great. Any coach can go 12-1 if they rig the schedule correctly. That doesn't prove anything to me. I've never once been impressed with someone's winning percentage...it doesn't mean anything if they don't play anyone. Conversely, this is exactly why coaches like cebrake, ez37, Pete_61, orangepace, gt_deuce, awags, slid64er, mcbethbr, and others are so incredible. They have all won tons of NC's and they all do so while playing 4 to 5 really tough NON-CONFERENCE games each season. None of those coaches stray away from tough opponents...why? Because they are confident in their own abilities. Scheduling crap teams tells me what you think of your own abilities. And for the record, I won't ever consider myself a great coach until I start winning more of those tough games. But at least I'm trying.
Thirdly, you will never, ever, ever learn until you start scheduling tough coaches. You think your air-raid offense is unstoppable? Try it against a proven coach and find out. If you lose, go back to the drawing board. If you win, you're onto something. Tired of getting knocked out in the first round? Schedule a coach that continually makes it to semi-finals or further and take notes. Find out what they do well and how you can improve. After the game, send them a sitemail and gather their thoughts. Unless the SIM starts providing advice, you'll never find any value in not scheduling humans. The only thing you're gaining from these easy schedules is a false sense of entitlement.
Lastly, is anyone here truly just not competitive? Maybe it's just me but I came here to prove that I can hang with the best in the game (I can't yet). I didn't come here for a self-esteem boost, I didn't come here to get something handed to me. I'm here because something told me this game could provide the same intensity and competitiveness that sports provided me in high-school and college. Maybe that's just me though.
Go out and schedule tough teams...don't be afraid.
Here's a quote, that I know bhazlewood will appreciate, to end the rant: "To be the man, you've got to BEAT the man."