1/2 FB vs Ole Miss ESPN 5,032,000
I was wondering how these ratings compared to other bowl games, and it turns out, pretty well. The playoff games had much higher ratings, but the Gator Bowl was among the best of the rest.
Sports Media Watch has a college football ratings page in reverse chronological order. Here's a selective look at the bowl games with the biggest audiences, and also the ones with an ACC team.
21.09M: CFP Rose Bowl (Ohio State 41, Oregon 21) -- Wed 1/1, 5pm ET, ESPN/2/U
17.30M: CFP Peach Bowl (Texas 39, Arizona State 31, 2OT) -- Wed 1/1, 1pm ET, ESPN/2/U
15.80M: CFP Sugar Bowl (Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10) -- Thu 1/2, 4pm ET, ESPN/U
14.68M: CFP 1st Round (Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17) -- Sat 12/21, 8pm ET, ABC/ESPN/2/U
13.86M: CFP Fiesta Bowl (Penn State 31, Boise State 14) -- Tue 12/31, 7:30pm ET, ESPN/2/U
13.39M: CFP 1st Round (Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17) -- Fri 12/20, 8pm ET, ABC/ESPN/2
8.90M: CFP 1st Round (Texas 38,
Clemson 24) -- Sat 12/21, 4pm ET, TBS/TNT/TruTV
8.00M: Alamo Bowl (BYU 34, Colorado 14) -- Sat 12/28, 7:30pm ET, ABC
6.79M: Pop-Tarts Bowl (Iowa State 42,
Miami 41) -- Sat 12/28, 3:30pm ET, ABC
6.60M: CFP 1st Round (Penn State 38,
SMU 10) -- Sat 12/21, 12pm ET, TBS/TNT/TruTV
6.55M: ReliaQuest Bowl (Michigan 19, Alabama 13) -- Tue 12/31, 11am ET, ESPN
5.03M: Gator Bowl (Ole Miss 52,
Duke 20) -- Thu 1/2, 8:05pm ET, ESPN
4.26M: Citrus Bowl (Illinois 21, South Carolina 17) -- Tue 12/31, 2pm ET, ABC
4.21M: Liberty Bowl (Arkansas 3, Texas Tech 26) -- Fri 12/27, 7pm ET, ESPN
4.21M: Texas Bowl (LSU 44, Baylor 31) -- Tue 12/31, 2:30pm ET, ESPN
4.19M: Pinstripe Bowl (Nebraska 20,
Boston College 15) -- Sat 12/28, 12pm ET, ABC
4.05M: Birmingham Bowl (Vanderbilt 35,
Georgia Tech 27) -- Fri 12/27, 3:30pm ET, ESPN
3.38M: Mayo Bowl (Minnesota 24,
Virginia Tech 10) -- Fri 1/3, 7:30pm, ESPN
2.93M: Holiday Bowl (
Syracuse 52, Washington State 35) -- Fri 12/27, 8pm ET, FOX
2.56M: GameAbove Bowl (Toledo 48,
Pittsburgh 46, 6OT) -- Thu 12/26, 2pm ET, ESPN
2.11M: Fenway Bowl (Connecticut 27,
UNC 14) -- Sat 12/28, 11am ET, ESPN)
1.48M: LA Bowl (UNLV 24,
California 13) -- Wed 12/18, 9pm ET, ESPN
0.89M: Military Bowl (East Carolina 26,
NC State 21) -- Sat 12/28, 5:45pm ET, ESPN)
I can't find the TV audience figure for the Sun Bowl, in which
Louisville beat Washington on the afternoon of New Year's Eve on CBS. All I can find is 7.6 ratings share, which would only help me if I knew how many total viewers were watching any TV at that time.