Ratings for the Sun Bowl and Cotton Bowl hit their highest levels in years, while the Gator Bowl saw a small decline.
FOX drew a 4.5 final rating for the Mississippi/Oklahoma St. Cotton Bowl on January 2, up 5% from a 4.3 for last year’s Mississippi/Texas Tech matchup, and up 29% from a 3.5 for Missouri/Arkansas in ’08.
The 4.5 rating is the highest for the Cotton Bowl since 1998.
The previous day, the Florida St./West Virginia Gator Bowl drew a 3.9 final rating on CBS, down 5% from a 4.1 for Nebraska/Clemson last year, but up 50% from a 2.6 for Texas Tech/Virginia in ’08.
The game — the last for Bobby Bowden as Florida St. head coach — is tied as the third-lowest rated Gator Bowl since ’01.
The other bowl game on CBS, the Oklahoma/Stanford Sun Bowl, drew a 3.3 rating on New Year’s Eve — up 50% from a 2.2 for Oregon St./Pittsburgh last year, and up 44% from a 2.3 for Oregon/South Florida in ’08.
The 3.3 rating is the highest for the Sun Bowl since ’02.
Ratings/viewership for the Sun, Gator and Cotton Bowls since ’96
| Year | Sun | Gator | Cotton | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rtg | Vwrs | Rtg | Vwrs | Rtg | Vwrs | |
| 2010 |
3.3
|
5,022
|
3.9
|
6,408
|
4.5
|
7,250
|
| 2009 |
2.2
|
3,475
|
4.1
|
6,603
|
4.3
|
6,407
|
| 2008 |
2.3
|
3,187
|
2.6
|
4,038
|
3.5
|
5,664
|
| 2007 |
2.4
|
—
|
3.9
|
6,062
|
3.7
|
5,713
|
| 2006 |
2.6
|
—
|
3.9
|
5,675
|
3.7
|
5,466
|
| 2005 |
2.8
|
3,716
|
4.0
|
5,974
|
2.6
|
4,019
|
| 2004 |
3.2
|
4,318
|
3.6
|
5,672
|
4.3
|
6,062
|
| 2003 |
3.1
|
4,010
|
5.2
|
7,700
|
3.4
|
5,016
|
| 2002 |
3.8
|
5,178
|
5.8
|
9,019
|
4.3
|
6,668
|
| 2001 |
3.5
|
—
|
4.6
|
—
|
4.4
|
—
|
| 2000 |
4.3
|
—
|
3.8
|
—
|
4.1
|
—
|
| 1999 |
3.4
|
—
|
6.4
|
—
|
4.1
|
—
|
| 1998 |
4.1
|
—
|
3.3
|
—
|
6.2
|
—
|
| 1997 |
3.7
|
—
|
5.7
|
—
|
5.6
|
—
|
| 1996 |
4.0
|
—
|
3.5
|
—
|
5.6
|
—
|
