Airing immediately after the lowest rated Rose Bowl ever, the Sugar Bowl delivered its lowest rating in 25 years.

Friday’s Mississippi/Oklahoma State Sugar Bowl drew a 5.1 final rating and 8.9 million viewers on ESPN, down 45% in ratings and viewership from Oklahoma/Alabama in 2014 (9.3, 16.3M) and down 18% and 12%, respectively, from Louisville/Florida in 2013 (6.2, 10.1M). Last year’s Ohio State/Alabama Sugar Bowl, part of the College Football Playoff, had a 15.2 and 28.3 million.

Mississippi’s blowout win ranks as the lowest rated Sugar Bowl in 25 years, since Tennessee/Virginia in 1991 (4.9). The previous mark was a 5.2 for Florida/West Virginia in 1994. ESPN has now aired three of the five lowest rated Sugar Bowl games since 1991, with 2012 (6.1) and 2013 (6.2) ranking third and fourth.

The 5.1 rating is also the lowest for a New Year’s night bowl game since the formation of the BCS in 1999, and the sixth-lowest for any major bowl over that span, regardless of day. Of the 12 total New Year’s Six bowl games, half have fallen below a 5.4 rating, compared to just one such BCS bowl — the 2012 Orange Bowl on ESPN (4.5).



(Fri. numbers from ESPN, ShowBuzz Daily)