BCS bust? Not so much; Florida’s 41-14 pounding of Ohio State drew a 17.4 fast national rating, the highest for any college football game this year and the fourth highest BCS rating ever (only the 2006 Rose Bowl, 2001 Orange Bowl and 2000 Sugar Bowl had higher ratings).
After a woeful start, the BCS ends up with a mammoth finish, beating my — and nearly everyone elses — predictions. With ratings dipping as low as 7.0 for the Orange Bowl between Louisville and Wake Forest, and none of the first four BCS games garnering even a 10 rating, it seemed as if this would be the worst year for the marquee bowls in recent history.
How did OSU/Florida buck that trend? Especially considering that the game was a blowout by halftime?
Ohio State is very popular; when playing in the BCS, only their 2004 Fiesta Bowl game against Kansas State scored less than a 10 rating (8.4). Still, the Buckeyes aren’t a guaranteed solid rating.
The second point may be the closest to the truth. That being said, if people had truly gone positive in regards to the BCS, then why were the ratings for the first four games so low?
To be honest, this rating is truly an anomaly. With so many factors pointing to low, if not record low ratings, for this game to get a stellar 17 rating almost makes no sense. Even if there was huge hype for the game, the fact that it was a blowout by halftime should have eaten into viewership. And there was hardly any of the hype for this year’s game that last year’s game (USC/Texas) had. Not only that, but Florida/OSU came after a weekend of NFL playoff games and a full four days after the previous BCS bowl game.
Everything pointed to a bad night. Luckily for FOX, the National Championship game defied predictions, both on the field and off.
