People shake their fists all the time over ND having a “sweet deal” with the BCS system. But there’s a reason the BCS is happy to have any deal with ND: People watch ND.

What don’t people watch? Try Georgia versus Hawaii and USC versus Illionois.

I was curious to see what effect yesterday’s lopsided matchups had on both the Rose and Sugar bowls’ ratings. Sure enough, the overnight Nielsen ratings showed both were down significantly, though not drastically, from last year: The Rose Bowl fell from 14.5 last year (for USC-Michigan) to 12.0; the Sugar from 9.8 (LSU-Notre Dame) to 7.9.

And it’s not because people perceived this year’s BCS games to be full of “lopsided matchups.” NOBODY outside of the ND fanbase thought ND could win the 2007 Sugar Bowl against LSU, but they still watched the game.

And, actually, the 2007 Sugar was arguably more competitive than the 2008 Rose, the 2008 Sugar, or, even, the 2008 Fiesta, in which Bob Stoops proved that his bloodline just can’t coach in the state of Arizona and/or in BCS games.

PS - I spent a New Year’s Eve in Tempe once, for the Bob Davie Fiesta Spanking. I highly recommend it. With or without the spanking.

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