With the advantage of hindsight, I don't think anyone would think that cancelling the 2020 season was the only option. Would playing the season proved difficult? Yes, because there would have been a lot of COVID testing which costs money. But, there were schools available to play.
Look at 4 Indys from 2020.
Army, who was on UConn's 2020 schedule was scheduled to play 12 games in 2020 and they ended up playing 12 games in 2020. But, they only played 3 schools on their original schedule. Somehow, they found a way.
Liberty was also an Indy that was on UConn's 2020 schedule and they ended up playing 11 games including one against UMass. And, they played 3 ACC schools: @Syracuse, @NC State, @Virginia Tech. They played in a bowl.
UMass, another Indy on UConn's schedule, managed to play 4 games. UMass cancelled football on August 11 and restarted the season on September 21st.
BYU played 11 regular season games, but they had to find 7 new games and adjusted dates and locations on 2 games. They also played in a bowl.