I was curious after reading this thread how we compare to other B1G Schools in terms of Undergrad pop vs student section size. I couldn't find all the data, but here is what I did find:
school/undergrads/student seating/ percent
tOSU/37,100/ 29,679/ 80%
Penn St/ 35,700/ 21,000/ 59%
Iowa/19,900/ 10,590/ 53%
Wisconsin/ 28,500/ 14000/ 49%
Nebraska/ 19,100/ 8,500/ 45%
Minnesota/ 28,600/ 10,000/ 35%
So just in terms of the section being too big to fill, that is a poor argument in my estimation.
Now the argument that the section should be closer to the field is valid in my opinion. When you look at the rest of the B1G all the student sections have front-row access except Nebraska.