I suspect that they would be smart enough to not fight it. Fighting it would lead to public backlash, and there would be very few outlets for that backlash. Athletically, I could see the rest of the B1G's supporters moving to expel them from the league, and they could forget about getting non-conference opponents for other sports. And it would wreak havoc in recruiting/employment even for normal students "oh, you go/went to that school that put its football program ahead of seeking justice for sexually abused kids."
On the other hand, if they didn't fight it, and just accepted the penalty, the public's attitude would probably tend towards sympathy. I don't think many would say they were treated "unjustly," some of course would, but they would likely be a minority, most people would be on the "yeah, that's tough - I feel bad for some of the players, coaches and students, but I feel worse for the kids. The former will be back soon, the latter may never get all the way there." And, when the program started back up again, most would probably accept that they had paid the penalty, and would probably be willing to wish well upon the new program.
If they were to fight it though - they would become the villains of the NCAA. They would come out on the losing end of every transaction for 20 years: sponsorship, scheduling, poll votes, tv slots, bowl invitations; the list is endless.
The more I think about it, not only do I think that the "right" thing to do for them is to voluntarily shut down the football program (as I said about 40 posts ago), but I also suspect that in the long term it would also be the more profitable course of action. The next two years would suck financially for them, but it's going to suck no matter what happens; and if they don't figure out some way to bring closure to this, it will permanently impair their financial performance. Shutting down the program for a couple years would let them start over - this is America, we believe in second chances, but only after you've paid the price for your ****-ups. Skip paying the price, and the general answer is **** you.