NEW ORLEANS -- Alabama loved a rematch. Not so much of the rest of the country.

It turns out most television viewers didn't want to see Alabama-LSU again, at least not an uncompetitive rematch.

Final ratings for Alabama's 21-0 victory over LSU were the third lowest for a national championship in the 14-year history of the BCS. The All-SEC affair, the first championship pairing teams from the same conference, drew a 14.0 rating on ESPN. The lowest ratings were a 13.7 for USC-Oklahoma in 2005 and a 13.8 for Miami-Nebraska. [Note: Updated with final ratings after initial overnight ratings.]

To put last night's rating in perspective, Alabama-LSU on Nov. 5 drew an 11.5 on CBS. Last night's game was down 8 percent from Auburn's three-point victory over Oregon last year. It was also down from Alabama's last national championship when the Crimson Tide defeated Texas in 2010.

Alabama-LSU capped a disappointing ratings year for the BCS on ESPN. The five BCS games averaged 8.4% of all TV households, down 12 percent from last year.

The Rose, Orange, Sugar and BCS Championship all took ratings hits this season. West Virginia's 70-33 rout of Clemson at the Orange Bowl drew just a 4.5 rating, making it the lowest-rated game in BCS history.

The overnight rating for Alabama-LSU drew the lowest rated for a BCS Championship Game. But last night's game escaped that distinction after all of the markets were reported.

Interestingly, the three lowest overnight ratings for the BCS Championship Game occurred in a year when there was some controversy over the participating teams. The previous low (14.3), in 2002, featured Nebraska, which didn't win its conference. LSU's win over Oklahoma in 2004 featured a Sooners team that didn't win its conference.

Last night, Alabama became the first school since Minnesota in 1936 to win a national title without winning its conference. Alabama fans are understandably rejoicing.

Much of the rest of the country apparently tuned out.

E-mail: jsolomon@bhamnews.com

Twitter: twitter.com/jonsol