The '14-15 college football bowl season kicked off yesterday with five games. An announced crowd of 34,014 attended the Louisiana Lafayette-Nevada R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the fourth largest in the bowl's history. But the actual crowd at Mercedes-Benz Superdome "was considerably smaller" (NOLA.com, 12/20). A crowd of 28,275 showed up at University Stadium for the Utah State-UTEP Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the fourth largest in the bowl's history. However, officials "wouldn't say how many tickets were given out for free" (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL. 12/21).
Meanwhile, the Bowling Green-South Alabama Raycom Media Camellia Bowl was played before 20,256 fans at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. (MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER, 12/21). The crowd at the Air Force-Western Michigan Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Albertsons Stadium in Boise was announced as 18,223, but the actual crowd "looked like less than half that." Bowl Exec Dir Kevin McDonald said that the bowl "distributed more than 26,000 tickets" (IDAHO STATESMAN, 12/21). A crowd of 33,067 attended the Utah-Colorado State Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/21).
