Power Ranking the 2012-13 College Football Bowl Games by Attendance

With reports of a continued drop in overall attendance for the 35 bowl games that make up the college football postseason, it’s intriguing to see which contests drew the most spectators this season.

The following slideshow does just that by power ranking the 2012-13 bowl slate by total attendance.

The rankings provided are sorted first by total game attendance and then a secondary ranking is supplied for each bowl based on the percentage of the total venue capacity filled.

Perhaps this study will help to explain why the college football viewing nation saw so many empty seats as they tuned in to this season’s over-serving of bowls.

Game attendance figures provided in the rankings are via ESPN.com’s box scores for each game while stadium capacity numbers are from worldstadiums.com.

35. Military Bowl

Total Attendance:  17,835

Venue:  RFK Stadium, Washington DC

Venue Capacity:  56,464

Percent of Capacity Filled:  31.59 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  35

The 2012 Military Bowl featured a ranked San Jose State squaring off with Bowling Green from the MAC.

The fact that this specific bowl drew the smallest crowd of the 2012-13 slate and earned the lowest capacity fill ranking can be at least partially explained by the distance both the programs are from Washington D.C.

Bowling Green (Ohio) is 481 miles from D.C. while San Jose State in San Jose, Calif. is a whopping 2,849 miles from our nation’s capital.

Of course, it probably didn’t help either that this was a clash between the MAC and the WAC as opposed to the Pac-12 and ACC.

The good news is that the fans that did show up for the Military Bowl were treated to a solid game that resulted in a 29-20 SJSU victory.

 

34. Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

Total Attendance:  21,759

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  43,671

Percent of Capacity Filled:  49.82 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  32

The second lowest draw of the 2012-13 postseason came in a Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, which hosted C-USA runner-up Central Florida and Ball State from the MAC.

Though this didn’t look like a blockbuster matchup on paper, it's at least somewhat disheartening that UCF didn’t fill more seats, since the game was sited just 120 miles southwest of its campus in Orlando.

Knights fans that did attend were on hand to watch their squad easily handle Ball State (hailing from Muncie, Ind.) by a score of 38-17.

33. Little Caesars Bowl

Total Attendance:  23,310

Venue:  Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.

Venue Capacity:  64,500

Percent of Capacity Filled:  36.14 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  34

It’s no surprise that Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky in the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl didn’t fill the home of the Detroit Lions.

But, it is a bit of a shock that more of the crowd from CMU didn’t take the two-and-a-half hour drive south from Mt. Pleasant to root on its Chippewas.

To be fair, this expectation needs to be tempered by pointing out that Central Michigan drew a mere 7,223 fans to its home finale vs. Miami (Ohio) this season.

Not to take anything away from what was an exciting 24-21 Chippewa win, but you can easily see how a clash between a 6-6 MAC team and a 7-5 squad from the Sun Belt might not draw a big crowd.

 

32. New Mexico Bowl

Total Attendance:  24,610

Venue:  University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M.

Venue Capacity:  42,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  58.60 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  30

Though this was the very first game of this year’s postseason slate, the New Mexico Bowl featured a compelling matchup between Arizona and Nevada.

The other component of the clash that might have indicated a bigger draw is the fact that Albuquerque is at least in the same general region as the two institutions being featured.

But being that nearness is a very relative concept, its distance that might actually explain why more fans didn’t flock to the New Mexico Bowl.

To illustrate, the University of Arizona in Tucson is 450 miles from Albuquerque, while the University of Nevada is sited 1000 miles to the northwest.

When you throw in the fact that this wasn’t necessarily a prestigious game and it was held 10 days before Christmas you get the picture.

Let’s just hope that the folks who did punch their tickets for this season’s New Mexico Bowl stayed all the way to the final whistle to see Arizona pull off a thrilling and unbelievable comeback win.

31. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Total Attendance:  29,243

Venue:  Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Venue Capacity:  37,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  79.04 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  19

Though Utah State squaring off against Toledo in the Potato Bowl didn’t even reach the 30,000 mark in attendance, the folks in Boise, Idaho did effectively fill the stands to almost 79 percent capacity.

You have to figure that this game would have sold out if Boise State was on the ticket, a scenario that has played out four times since the game came to fruition in 1997.

Though Toledo, Ohio is nearly 2,000 miles from Boise, Utah State’s campus in Logan is only located about 4 hours south, making it somewhat convenient for Aggie fans to have watched their team win 41-15.

 

30. Hawaii Bowl

Total Attendance:  30,024

Venue:  Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Venue Capacity:  50,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  60.05 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  29

Given the travel challenges inherent to the only island destination in college football it’s impressive that the people of Hawaii can manage to fill their stadium to 60 percent capacity.

Especially when it’s Fresno State vs. SMU on tap for the Hawaii Bowl.

Hats off to the Aloha State for selling 30,024 tickets to what was a June Jones homecoming complete with a 43-10 SMU victory.

 

29. Las Vegas Bowl

Total Attendance:  33,217

Venue:  Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.

Venue Capacity:  36,800

Percent of Capacity Filled:  90.26 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  11

Only 10 bowl games this season can say that they filled their stands more effectively than did a Las Vegas Bowl that hosted Washington vs. Boise State.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Las Vegas is already a travel destination and that this game offered up two quality teams with great defenses and young offenses.

The good news here is that the people filling the seats were treated to a 28-26 decision that took the Broncos four full quarters to earn.

28. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

Total Attendance:  34,175

Venue:  AT&T Park, San Francisco, Calif.

Venue Capacity:  41,663

Percent of Capacity Filled:  82.03 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  17

Proving that perhaps having a big city host your bowl game is a key to successful ticket sales, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl filled 82 percent of its seats in 2012.

The game featured Navy and Arizona State, and given that the schools are located 2,900 and 760 miles from San Francisco respectively, the fill rate looks even sweeter.

Fans who punched their tickets for the bowl game paid witness to a Sun Devil blowout with a final tally of 62-28.

27. Poinsettia Bowl

Total Attendance:  35,442

Venue:  Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.

Venue Capacity:  71,294

Percent of Capacity Filled:  49.71 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  33

One of 13 bowl games hosted by an NFL venue, the Poinsettia Bowl was tasked with ticket sales for a clash between former conference foes BYU and San Diego State.

Since the Aztecs call Qualcomm Stadium home each and every season this was not a neutral site in the true sense of the word.

Frankly the attendance in this game was disappointing, relative to the fact that in comparison San Diego State drew 30,266 to its home finale vs. Air Force this season.

Whether BYU fans who normally travel well didn’t make the trip, or the scheduled date five days before Christmas hurt attendance, frankly the total number is low.

Enthusiasts who did attend the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl paid witness to BYU pounding the Aztecs 23-6.

26. GoDaddy.com Bowl

Total Attendance:  37,913

Venue:  Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.

Venue Capacity:  40,646

Percent of Capacity Filled:  93.28 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  8

Really it’s a bit of a jolt to see the Arkansas State vs. Kent State clash in the GoDaddy.com Bowl listed with an attendance of nearly 38,000 folks.

But, it’s even more amazing that this game is among the top 10 in terms of filling the seats—and how about the fact that the Go Daddy folks were only a couple of thousand tickets away from selling out?

Attendance boosters likely included a weekend date after the holidays and the location in the Deep South where college football is a religion regardless of the level.

Arkansas State represented the south well in this contest and escaped with a 17-13 win over a ranked Kent State squad.

25. Pinstripe Bowl

Total Attendance:  39,098

Venue:  Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.

Venue Capacity:  52,325

Percent of Capacity Filled:  74.72 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  22

Almost 40,000 people showed up to watch Syracuse level a final blow to a West Virginia program in the throes of one of the most painful campaigns in the FBS in 2012.

What had to boost ticket sales was the fact that the Syracuse campus is about four hours from Yankee Stadium and what had to deflate actual attendance was the fact the game was played amidst a swirl of snowy weather.

24. Armed Forces Bowl

Total Attendance:  40,754

Venue:  Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Venue Capacity:  45,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  90.56 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  10

Rice and Air Force squared off in this season’s Armed Forces Bowl, which is sited at the regular home of the TCU football program in Fort Worth.

Filling to 90 percent capacity is impressive, especially when you’re hosting two 6-6 teams from the Mountain West and C-USA. As far as how they pulled it off, here are a few thoughts.

First of all, Rice University is located in Houston, which is only about a four hour drive; secondly, you’ve got the patriotic draw of Air Force; and thirdly the Dallas/Fort Worth market is a huge pool in which to lure fans.

Those who did punch their ticket watched the “home” team Rice win its first bowl game since 2008.

 

23. Independence Bowl

Total Attendance:  41,853

Venue:  Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.

Venue Capacity:  50,832

Percent of Capacity Filled:  82.34 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  16

The story behind the 42,000 folks in northwestern Louisiana buying tickets to a Ohio Bobcats vs. ULM Warhawks postseason clash is the fact that one of the institutions featured was located a mere two hours way.

Indeed, the University of Louisiana-Monroe is sited 112 miles down I-20 from Shreveport, La., the host city of the Independence Bowl.

Unfortunately, the 82 percent capacity crowd paid witness to the local boys getting schooled by the MAC team by a score of 45-14.

22. Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl

Total Attendance:  44,617

Venue:  Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.

Venue Capacity:  73,379

Percent of Capacity Filled:  60.80 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  28

One of the better middle-tier bowl matchups this season, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl featured TCU and Michigan State.

The quality of this game makes the total attendance seem somewhat underwhelming but this is another case of a game with no regional participant to draw a “home” crowd.

Fort Worth, Texas home of TCU is 1000 miles from Temple, Ariz. while East Lansing, Mich. is 2000 miles from the current home of the Wings Bowl.

The Spartans engineered a comeback in this postseason clash and ultimately nipped the Frogs 17-16.

21. Sun Bowl

Total Attendance:  47,922

Venue:  Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Venue Capacity:  52,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  92.16 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  9

After hosting Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) in 2010 and Utah and Georgia Tech in 2011 the Sun Bowl nabbed another quality matchup in 2012 with the return of Georgia Tech to take on USC.

Given the fact that El Paso is not necessarily regionally convenient to anything, it’s impressive that the Sun Bowl managed to fill nearly 100 percent of its historic venue.

Few of the nearly 50,000 fans that watched this year’s Sun Bowl will forget watching Georgia Tech shock USC and the entire nation with a 21-7 victory.

20. Russell Athletic Bowl

Total Attendance:  48,127

Venue:  Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  70,188

Percent of Capacity Filled:  68.57 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  24

Rutgers and Virginia Tech drew bids to this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, which was held between Christmas and New Year’s in Orlando, Fla.

Though Virginia Tech fans travel well, Rutgers is a smaller school and is located 1,000 miles from the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Overall the fill rate for this game was a bit of a let-down, regardless of the fact that this wasn’t necessarily a marquee matchup.

After staging a comeback the Hokies won the Russell Bowl in the only OT game of the bowl season.

19. Belk Bowl

Total Attendance:  48,128

Venue:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

Venue Capacity:  73,248

Percent of Capacity Filled:  65.71 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  26

The 2012 edition of the state of North Carolina’s only bowl offering opportunely hosted Duke and Cincinnati, but the inclusion of a regional team didn’t necessarily result in booming attendance.

The Duke campus is about a two-hour trek from Charlotte, but only an average crowd (by 2012-13 bowl standards) looked on as the Blue Devils fell short of scoring their first bowl win since 1961.

 

18. Heart of Dallas Bowl

Total Attendance:  48,313

Venue:  Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Venue Capacity:  92,200

Percent of Capacity Filled:  52.40 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  31

Even though drawing 48,000 fans to a game that was a mismatch both on paper and on-field isn’t necessarily tragic when your venue is the huge Cotton Bowl, the crowd magically seems to shrink.

Indeed, even though nearly 50,000 people were on hand for an early New Year’s Day kickoff between Oklahoma State and Purdue there were still at least 43,887 empty seats and probably more with no-shows.

Almost any pictures from the game, at any angle, show the Cowboys pummeling Purdue 58-14 with a backdrop of empty seats.

17. Gator Bowl

Total Attendance:  48,612

Venue:  Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  76,877

Percent of Capacity Filled:  63.23 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  27

Yet another NFL venue hosting a mid-tier bowl game pumping out average attendance figures, the Gator Bowl featured nine-win Northwestern taking on eight-win Mississippi State.

Though this was a solid Big Ten vs. SEC clash neither team is historically a huge crowd drawer or media pleaser, which makes the average ticket sales plausible.

The other bit that didn’t help was the fact the closest fanbase, Mississippi State, had to travel nine hours to get to the game.

Regardless, fans attending this season’s Gator Bowl had the honor of being on hand for Northwestern’s first bowl win since icing Cal in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

16. New Orleans Bowl

Total Attendance:  48,828

Venue:  Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.

Venue Capacity:  72,003

Percent of Capacity Filled:  67.81 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  25

Kudos for the ever-enthusiastic city of New Orleans for filling nearly 70 percent of the seats in its Superdome for the not so nationally anticipated matchup between East Carolina and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Yes, ULL is located a quick two-hour drive down I-10, but it’s a smaller institution, making it even more remarkable that this game outdrew the Gator Bowl, the Sun Bowl and a well-represented Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

In an outcome that had to boost frozen drink sales on Bourbon Street, the Ragin' Cajuns walked away with the win 43-34.

15. Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

Total Attendance:  50,386

Venue:  Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Venue Capacity:  71,054

Percent of Capacity Filled:  70.91 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  23

Given the relative strength of the matchup in this clash, it’s really quite the thing that the Meineke folks managed to lure 50,386 onlookers for the much anticipated 7-5 Texas Tech vs. 6-6 Minnesota game.

The job was undoubtedly made somewhat easier by the fact that host city Houston has the fourth largest population in the U.S. and that Texas Tech, though nine hours away, has a statewide fanbase.

Though the Red Raider nation may not travel nationally as well as others, it is used to making its way around the state of Texas, especially when their dashing new coach urges their attendance.

It wasn’t pretty, but Texas Tech managed a 34-31 win over a scrappy Golden Gopher squad that was 1,200 miles from home.

14. Liberty Bowl

Total Attendance:  53,687

Venue:  Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn.

Venue Capacity:  62,380

Percent of Capacity Filled:  86.06 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  12

The fact that the 2012 Liberty Bowl featuring Iowa State and Tulsa outdrew 21 of the 35 bowl games this season is nothing short of stunning.

Ticket sales seem even more sparkly when you realize Tulsa is 400 miles from Memphis and Ames, Iowa is 650 miles away.

The Liberty Bowl organizers deserve a bunch of credit for coming close to filling its seats in a year when bowl attendance dropped significantly.

13. Sugar Bowl

Total Attendance:  54,178

Venue:  Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.

Venue Capacity:  72,003

Percent of Capacity Filled:  75.24 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  21

Perhaps the most shocking number on our list, the 2012-13 Sugar Bowl sold fewer tickets than the Holiday Bowl, the Music City Bowl and the BBVA Compass Bowl.

And if you’re going to lay the blame on a matchup that pitted No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 3 Florida consider the fact that some of the other games with superior attendance figures include NC State vs. Vandy and Pitt vs. Ole Miss.

None of those teams were even ranked at game time.

According to NBCsports.com ticket sales for the 2012-13 Sugar Bowl were the lowest since 1939.

To further put things into perspective consider the fact that the New Orleans Bowl (which shares the same venue with the Sugar Bowl) featuring East Carolina and ULL drew 48,828 fans total which is only 5,350 fewer than the Sugar Bowl.

Wow. 

12. Outback Bowl

Total Attendance:  54,527

Venue:  Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  65,647

Percent of Capacity Filled:  83.06 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  14

The almost 55,000 folks that turned up for the 2012 Outback Bowl were treated to one of the best bowl games of the season, with South Carolina edging Michigan 33-28 in a thriller.

Though both the total attendance figures and capacity stats are decent you would have thought that given Michigan’s history of travelling well that the numbers would have been a bit higher.

11. Holiday Bowl

Total Attendance:  55,507

Venue:  Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.

Venue Capacity:  71,294

Percent of Capacity Filled:  77.86 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  20

The high-flying Holiday Bowl lived up to its score-fest traditions this season with Baylor lighting up UCLA 49-26 at Qualcomm Stadium.

Given that the total attendance figure is No. 11 the Holiday Bowl drew a decent crowd but still you have to ask yourself where the Bruin fanbase was.

To quantify, UCLA managed to welcome 81,673 fans at home for a regular season game vs. Arizona this season.

This game was two hours from Los Angeles but still the Bruins could have filled the stands or at least brought the number closer to capacity.

10. Music City Bowl

Total Attendance:  55,801

Venue:  LP Field, Nashville, Tenn.

Venue Capacity:  68,932

Percent of Capacity Filled:  80.95 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  18

Regardless of the fact that Music City Bowl featured home team Vanderbilt clashing with NC State the game making the top ten in terms of total attendance is pretty amazing.

No matter how you slice it, the Commodores vs. the Wolfpack was not a blockbuster billing which makes filling an NFL venue to 81 percent full stunning stuff.

The local crowd had to be thrilled that Vandy won the Music City Bowl 38-24.

9. BBVA Compass Bowl

Total Attendance:  59,135

Venue:  Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala.

Venue Capacity:  71,594

Percent of Capacity Filled:  82.60 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  15

Other than the Sugar Bowl tanking in ticket sales this season, the other most shocking element resulting from our attendance rankings is the BBVA Compass Bowl coming in at No. 9.

Yes, it’s a strange world indeed when Ole Miss vs. Pitt outdraws both the Sugar Bowl with No. 3 Florida and the Outback Bowl with Michigan and South Carolina featured on the dance card.

If you want your head to spin even further how about the fact that the Capital One Bowl pitting Georgia vs. Nebraska drew only 577 more fans than did the BBVA Compass Bowl?

Seriously?

Whether it’s the greatest marketing coup in the history of modern bowls or an indictment of how far the over-saturated college football postseason has fallen, the Compass Bowl at No. 9 packs quite a punch.

8. Capital One Bowl

Total Attendance:  59,712

Venue:  Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  70,188

Percent of Capacity Filled:  85.07 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  13

Coming in at No. 8, the Capital One Bowl sold nearly 60,000 tickets to its Georgia vs. Nebraska league runners-up bout.

To explain, this was basically what the Bulldogs got instead of the BCS title game after their loss to Alabama and what the Huskers earned instead of the Rose Bowl via their loss to Wisconsin.

And this No. 2, “instead of” mentality might explain why a great matchup from a national perspective didn’t post a higher attendance number.

7. Alamo Bowl

Total Attendance:  65,227

Venue:  Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Venue Capacity:  65,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  100.35 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  5

The first of five bowls to fill their venues beyond capacity (based on the figures we used from the sources mentioned in the opening slide) the Alamo Bowl lived large after offering Texas a bid to its postseason party.

Longhorn fans travel well nationally, which makes it understandable why they’d cross the state of Texas from all points and flock to San Antonio to watch their team narrowly beat a good Oregon State squad.

 

6. Chick-fil-A Bowl

Total Attendance:  68,027

Venue:  Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.

Venue Capacity:  71,149

Percent of Capacity Filled:  95.61 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  6

Conveniently located two hours from Clemson, S.C. and seven from Baton Rouge, LA, the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl lived up to its billing as one of the very best non-BCS bowls this season.

Both sets of Tigers fans combined with other non-partisan southern-fried football enthusiasts to fill 95 percent of the seats in the massive Georgia Dome, which is a tribute to Atlanta and the bowl organizers.

As a bonus the spectators at this bowl got served up what might have been the best game of the postseason.

5. Fiesta Bowl

Total Attendance:  70,242

Venue:  University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Venue Capacity:  63,400

Percent of Capacity Filled:  110.79 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  1

Ranking No. 5 in total attendance and No. 1 in capacity fill, the Fiesta Bowl overbooked their venue like an airline flight at Thanksgiving.

With Oregon green on one side of the stadium and K-State purple on the other the place was stacked to the gills and was reminiscent to Oklahoma and Texas fans stacked into the old Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry.

 

4. Orange Bowl

Total Attendance:  72,073

Venue:  Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  75,540

Percent of Capacity Filled:  95.41 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  7

When you look at how the Sugar Bowl attendance plummeted with the marginally underwhelming matchup of Louisville vs. Florida it makes what the Orange Bowl did look pretty darn good.

Indeed, the Orange Bowl got dealt a hand that included the first MAC team in BCS history taking on local favorite Florida State and still managed to fill 95 percent of the seats.

Given the rest of the field this was quite an achievement.

3. BCS National Championship

Total Attendance:  80,120

Venue:  Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Fla.

Venue Capacity:  75,540

Percent of Capacity Filled:  106.06 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  3

You have to figure that if the BCS title game featuring Alabama and Notre Dame would have been held at a stadium with a capacity of 100,000 that it still would have been overfilled.

The only downside to stacking 80,000 enthusiastic college football fans into a venue with 75,000 seats is serving up a game billed as the game of the century, which winds up being a blowout.

2. Cotton Bowl

Total Attendance:  87,025

Venue:  Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Venue Capacity:  80,000

Percent of Capacity Filled:  108.78 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  2

The non-BCS bowl with the highest attendance and the best fill rate, the 2012 Cotton Bowl really scored big by offering bids to Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

This season’s Cotton Bowl not only featured a rematch between the SEC Aggies and their old Big 12 foe Oklahoma, it was also geographically located perfectly between two rabid fanbases and featured the newest and youngest ever Heisman Trophy winner.

Not only did the Cotton Bowl draw more folks than 34 of the 35 bowl games in 2012-13 it also overfilled its capacity by a higher rate than did all but one of the postseason contests this season.

If an additional BCS bowl is to be added to the mix, the Cotton Bowl should be that game.

1. Rose Bowl

Total Attendance:  93,359

Venue:  Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

Venue Capacity:  92,542

Percent of Capacity Filled:  100.88 percent

Capacity Fill Rank:  4

Proving why it deserves to be called the “Granddaddy of Them All” the Rose Bowl filled every seat and then some despite the fact that they welcomed an unranked Wisconsin team vs. No. 6 Stanford.

The Rose Bowl will remain the most prestigious non-championship bowl as long as they keep selling their coveted tickets, and it’s almost impossible to imagine it suffering the kind of fate that the Sugar Bowl has.