I think the counter-argument to that is that these criminals weren't operating in a vacuum separate from the rest of the university, and more importantly, may not have even acted criminally were it not for the overwhelming culture of football worship present at the university. So while you may punish the criminals this time, the culture that allowed something like this to take place still exists. If football is such a cash cow for the school, and takes such a huge priority over everything else that someone directly witnessing child rape is afraid to report it for fear of being fired over what that allegation may do to the football program's reputation, then the issue is larger than just a few individuals who didn't act.
Will there will be many who, through no fault of their own, will face negative repercussions should the NCAA decide to give the program the death penalty? Unfortunately, yes - and yeah, it's unfair to them. But simply punishing 4 individuals isn't going to change the culture. And frankly, the message needs to be crystal clear, and perhaps even a little harshly so, that institutions of higher learning need to get their fucking priorities straight.