I hate to say this but I'm afraid it's a Miss. State thing. Attendance for everyone in the SEC this past season (compared to the year before) was either up or basically the same expect for one school. I'll let you guess who.
If you go
to this site you can search "SEC" and see.
Also, TV ratings are up.
"In 2024, ABC averaged 5.8 million viewers for 46 regular-season games, a 56% increase year-over-year and its best college football season in 15 years. ESPN platforms averaged 1.9 million viewers per game, a 19% increase from the previous year. ABC's Saturday Night Football averaged 7.4 million viewers, the best for any network since 2008."
I agree, my interest in watching last year was down as well. It was a reminder of how far we have fallen. But overall, there's still a big appetite to watch (good) college football so we better figure this problem out fast.