The students weren't the only ones who left in the third/early fourth quarters. The team had a great chance to create a lot of new fans and they shat the bed the second and third quarters. The comeback was great, but with how we were playing and our team's D1 history, I don't really blame them for giving up early.
With that said, the noise level from the student section was disappointing when there were a lot of students there. I thought the Al was just as loud or louder with 5,500 people towards the end of the game as it ever was with 11,500 in the first half, and there was plenty to be loud about in that first quarter.