That's why reductions weren't the only penalty.
I've already stated above my sense of the bowl ban being minor compared to the scholarship reductions. The reductions were hurting the team on the field. And it would get worse in the future. They would lose a majority of their games. By comparison, the bowl ban is one game late in the season. It hasn't stopped them from recruiting. My perception was the same as yours when this began, that the bowl ban would hurt most. Now, I don't think that's true. Bringing in 10 players a year is what would have killed the program. I think Ohio State, Miami, UNC have shown that multiple year bowl bans do not kill football. They don't prevent coaches from going to schools under those sanctions, and they don't prevent players from coming. But just try to play football with a handful of players, and then you see the losses rack up.