Television ratings up for first 2 BCS games; Sugar Bowl up 9 percent, Rose Bowl up 12 percent

Television ratings increase for first 2 BCS games

NEW YORK — Television ratings are up for the first two BCS games.

Tim Tebow’s final college game appeared to boost ratings for the Sugar Bowl. Florida’s 51-24 win over unbeaten Cincinnati on Friday on Fox earned an 8.5 fast national rating and 15 share.

The game itself had little drama with the lopsided score, but there was plenty of intrigue leading up to it, with Gators coach Urban Meyer announcing he was resigning for health reasons then backtracking and saying he was taking a leave of absence.

The rating was up 9 percent from last season’s Utah-Alabama Sugar Bowl and up 57 percent from the BCS game on New Year’s night a year ago, the Virginia Tech-Cincinnati Orange Bowl.

Ohio State’s 26-17 victory over Oregon in the Rose Bowl on ABC earned a 13.1 fast national rating, up 12 percent from last year.

Another game with major coach drama saw ratings soar. Texas Tech’s 41-31 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl on ESPN on Saturday after Mike Leach’s firing drew a 5.2 overnight rating, up 30 percent from last year’s Missouri-Northwestern matchup.

Fox is owned by News Corp.; ABC and ESPN are units of The Walt Disney Co.