Please don't make a bigger deal of this than it is. You want to compare this to the Big Boys? Tell me how many Michigan or "Bama fans got on a plane the last time they had to play a Marshall level team on the day after Christmas? Yes, more fans are obviously better than fewer fans, but we --- no one -- is getting a "big boy" crowd for a bowl like this.
Real grown ups know there is a difference between traveling to the Orange Bowl and travelling to St. Petes. And school Presidents, ADs and network executives are all grown ups. People care too much about what nobodies say in social media.