There were five bowl games on New Year’s Day, and most saw attendance declines, including a record low for the Outback Bowl.
- The Rose Bowl once again led all bowls this season, as 91,853 fans attended Ohio State-Washington. But that is the game’s lowest mark since Oregon-Florida State in '14 (two games in the period were CFP semifinals).
- Texas-Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl drew 71,449 fans, down from Alabama-Clemson in the CFP semifinal last year, but well above the 54,077 for Oklahoma-Auburn two years ago.
- Camping World Stadium saw 59,167 fans for the VRBO Citrus Bowl, marking the game’s best figure since Michigan-Florida drew 63,113 in '16.
- The PlayStation Fiesta Bowl saw 57,246 fans for LSU-UCF at State Farm Stadium, which is the event’s lowest attendance since Pitt-Arizona in '79.
- Iowa’s win over Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium drew 40,518 fans, marking a record low for the event that began in '86 at the old Tampa Stadium
Meanwhile, with the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl falling on New Year's Eve for the first time, the bowl drew 38,206 fans for Texas A&M-N.C. State. That marks the Jacksonville-based event's lowest attendance since '56. Also on New Year's Eve, Oklahoma State-Missouri in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl drew 56,862 fans, its best mark since the '15-16 bowl season. On Saturday, the Belk Bowl saw 48,263 fans for Virginia-South Carolina, the Charlotte-based event's best figure since '11.
