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Michigan State played in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988.

(Josh Slagter | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING — Michigan State fans flocked to Pasadena as part of the program's first visit to the Rose Bowl in 26 years.

Television viewers found reason to tune in, too.

According to Nielsen's ratings, the Spartans' 24-20 win Stanford was the most-viewed program on cable TV since the 2013 BCS national championship game.

The game averaged 18,636,000 viewers, up 9 percent over last year's Rose Bowl that featured Wisconsin and Stanford.

Detroit, the top-rated market, averaged a 27.9 metered market rating, the highest-rated bowl game ever on ESPN in the market (records go back to 2000).

Columbus, with a 22.3 overnight rating, was the second highest-rated market followed by Birmingham (22.2), Dayton (20.5), New Orleans and Portland, Ore. (16.3), Kansas City (14.8), Austin (14.7), Greenville (14.6) and Seattle (13.8).

— Email Josh Slagter at jslagter@mlive.com. Download the "Michigan State" football (iPhone & Android) and basketball (iPhone & Android) MLive apps