Rose Bowl Game Pulls In Best Ratings For Non-Playoff Matchup During Postseason
Jan 4, 2022, 4:56 PM
Utah Utes wide receiver Britain Covey (18) heads towards the end zone during the Rose Bowl game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes on January 1, 2022 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The 2022 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena between Utah and Ohio State pulled in the best ratings of a non-playoff bowl game this postseason.
ESPN released the ratings for all the New Year’s Six bowl games, including the two College Football Playoff Semifinals.
The Orange Bowl was the most-watched New Year’s Six matchup this postseason, which featured Georgia facing Michigan. That game brought in 17.2 million viewers. The Cotton Bowl Classic between Alabama and Cincinnati posted 16.6 million viewers.
📺 VIEWERSHIP UPDATE: ESPN's presentation of #CFBPlayoff Semis & New Year's Six 🆙 15% over 2020
🏈 3 most-viewed games of 2021-22 season
🏈 Non-Semifinal NY6 bowls average 10.7M viewers, third-best non-Semifinal NY6 on recordFull details: https://t.co/UB1KrUPdue pic.twitter.com/T1Y5HAceBk
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 4, 2022
The Rose Bowl Game was the most-viewed game that wasn’t a playoff semifinal, bringing in 16.6 million viewers. Next was the Sugar Bowl between Ole Miss and Baylor with 9.8 million viewers. The Fiesta Bowl featuring Notre Dame and Oklahoma State recorded 8 million viewers. Finally, the Peach Bowl between Michigan State and Pittsburgh brought up the rear with 7.6 million viewers.
The 2022 Rose Bowl Game was the second-most-viewed non-semifinal New Year’s Six bowl game of the CFP era. Only the 2019 game between Ohio State and Washington had more viewers with 16.9 million.
The 2022 edition peaked at 19.7 million viewers over the closing minutes of the game. Ohio State made a field goal to take a 48-45 lead with 12 seconds left that became the game-winning FG.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
