Ohio State vs. Utah Rose Bowl game draws massive audience

The Rose Bowl did some massive numbers for ESPN! #GoBucks #RoseBowl

It’s almost a given that the College Football Playoff semifinals and championship game will draw more viewers than any of the other bowls.

Throw that out the window when Ohio State is involved though. Add a Buckeye appearance on television with the excitement of a Utah fan base that had never been to Pasadena, and throw in the drama of the game, and well — it should be no surprise that the 48-45 OSU win in the Rose Bowl drew some massive numbers.

In fact, people tuned into the “Granddaddy of Them All” at the level of a CFP matchup, basically tying the number of viewers that watched Cincinnati and Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, with an average of 16.6 million television viewers ESPN announced Tuesday. The only game that drew more was the other semifinal in the Orange Bowl between Michigan and Georgia. That game drew an average of 17.2 million viewers.

Further, the 2022 Rose Bowl was the second-most-watched non-CFP bowl of the playoff era behind only the 2019 Rose Bowl that also featured Ohio State and drew an average audience of 16.9 million viewers.

Now, before you thump your chest about Ohio State turning on television sets and streaming devices again, consider that the Rose Bowl was on a Saturday, while the College Football Playoff semifinals took place on a Friday, with the Cotton Bowl kicking off at 3:30 p.m. EST when some folks couldn’t turn on a television set.

Still, the remainder of the New Year’s Six games didn’t approach the same stratosphere, and those are still big numbers when you compare things year-over-year.

What did we say about Ohio State turning on television sets?

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