Bowl game ratings

The following presents the posted TV ratings for the 2003-04 college football bowl games compared with the games in 2002-03, along with network totals. The games are listed by date, with the four BCS games presented first.

Of the 27 games played both years, 15 posted a ratings increase, 11 saw a ratings decrease and one bowl’s rating was unchanged. Total ratings for the Bowl Championship Series games were down 1.5 percent, with this year’s championship game, the Nokia Sugar Bowl, registering a 14.8, a 14 percent drop compared to the 17.2 scored by last year’s championship, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. But the Rose Bowl was up 27 percent, to a 14.2.