You have a serious conspiracy theory issue...after reading your last paragraph I'm surprised you didn't mention any other top programs ;). I think OSU is worse than UNC, but less severe than Miami and USC...Penn State, although their issues are far more sickening, are not going to get punishment as it was not an NCAA violation, it was a TERRIBLE violation against human rights and the LAW. If schools got punished for getting arrested then LSU, Florida, Oregon, and others would have been screwed a long time ago. Do I necessarily agree with this? I don't know, but I do know that Penn State's program will be in worse shape because of this occurrence than will Ohio State's.
Now as for OSU, they KNEW when the punishment was coming, however they CHOSE not to levy they bowl ban out of arrogance. Gene Smith should have sat out this year's bowl game but was cocky enough to think they wouldn't get a bowl ban.
Also, You are misconstruing what the NCAA actually handed down just because of the side affects of the cheating. There is only a 1 year bowl ban. Where do you get 2? Again it is pretty ridiculous stating that this season is a bowl ban when A. you are going to a bowl and B. the players that cheated got suspended for cheating. This happens in every case. If a player is caught, they are suspended and in UNC's case they lost better players for longer and all because of agents. I find it hard to complain about this.
As for how much in extra benefits the players got, it is actually close to $15k accounting for the MULTIPLE players that were found to be paid money for hours they did not work. This is the same as handing them cash. Add in the $200 hand shakes and you get 3 SEPARATE occurrences...this played heavily into the NCAA decision.
Now, what you are ignoring is the biggest part of the scandal and that is the cover up and the fact that more came out later which caused the NCAA to hit them with "repeat violator" status. Tressel got what he deserved. a 5 year "show cause" penalty is correct and he isn't even appealing. I am surprised you aren't happy that the man that caused you the bowl ban and the loss of 9 total scholarships is being punished. Too often the coaches get off without anything happening, I for one am glad Tressel did not. The fact that you got a failure to monitor, repeat violator, and covered it up, should make you feel lucky that only 9 scholarships and 1 year of bowls was lost. When it all comes down to it, THAT'S IT. The individuals were punished because of dumb decisions and now the school is for their lack of honesty and "control" so to speak. Yes 3 years probation, BUT what does that actually mean? Not much except don't do anymore cheating for 3 years or you're screwed! lol Sure they took away the wins, but in the grand scheme of things you and all other buckeye fans know you won those games and it wasn't a NC that was lost...that's the only time I think vacated wins hurts.
The reason why I think the punishment was either about right or less severe than I thought (Can't decide) is all because of one issue: Tressel and the players tried to pull a fast one on the NCAA. OU had 2 players get paid for hours they didn't work (Bomar and a lineman that I can't remember), but OU found out themselves, SELF REPORTED, kicked both players off the team, and came clean about it. Since the NCAA's investigation found nothing else wrong they stripped them of the entire season and bowl win. However because of the fact that they were HONEST OU appealed and got all wins back for that season. It's all a matter of honesty, and OSU didn't have that in the beginning.
In the grand scheme of things, this won't hurt OSU. When Miller is a junior they will compete for the Big Ten championship just as USC will next year. The players have been flocking with Urban there and so there is no reason to be frustrated with the NCAA because OSU has nobody to blame but themselves...