Knowing this was a possibility (and most likely, a probability), I cannot imagine why they did not self-impose it on themselves about halfway through the season once they realized that they were not going to be competing for the national championship. It would've been a lot easier to miss this year's Gator Bowl for a 6-6 season rather than next year's possible bowl.
You don't honestly believe Herron, Posey and Hall were the only players "working" for Digeronimo do you? Or that the few that were busted for accepting "gas money" from the charity were the only ones to do so?
The NCAA COI knows that's not the case too...They just couldn't prove it. The majority of the incoming class probably won't play in 2012 anyway so they're not truly being punished.
Buckeye Nation is whining about the severity of this ruling. In reality, O$U skated here mostly because they were smart enough to refuse to disclose the rest of the email communications between Tressel and Sarniak, hiding behind FERPA guidelines. ESPN still has an open law suit regarding these emails. The fact that they weren't forced to divulge these is the only thing standing between Failure to Monitor and Lack of Institutional Control (USC) that would have been imposed when it came out that Smith knew all along. I find it amusing though that Gee's refusal to dismiss Smith (an effort to portray things were still under control) lead to the 2012 bowl ban (had Smith been wise enough to self impose it in 2011 it wouldn't have been enforced for 2012).
I still think the scholarship reductions should have been stiffer but in general they got this one right considering what they had to work with...