ND Football is the one team I've always been behind. I believe in the mission of the University and the team on the field. I have watched practically every televised game barring deployment since I was 6.
But the facts are, ND wasn't even top-10 draw this year in eyeballs as a program, and had only 1 regular season game in the Top-50 for viewers (ND-TAMU). Ohio State had 6.8M average viewers per game. Tennessee had 5.4M. ND didn't crack Top-10.
You could argue that this year was down because the schedule didn't pan out, and I would agree with you (ND usually top-5 this century). But Ohio State outdraws ND in viewers every year now with the BIG TV contracts.
Nielsen by Team
https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/nielsen-shares-college-football-conference-champs-and-overall-top10-based-on-season-viewership-rankings/
*Regular Season Games Only
Link: Top 50 Games