Orange Lacked Staying Power

It was a great game for USC, but not so great for ABC.

The Trojans’ domination of Oklahoma in Tuesday night’s Orange Bowl did not keep viewers glued to their sets. The game averaged only a 13.7 national Nielsen rating with a 22 share of the audience after averaging a 16.6/25 from 6-7 p.m. PST.

The total number of viewers was 32.4 million.

The 13.7/22 was below the 14.8/25 average for last year’s bowl championship series title game between Louisiana State and Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

The Orange Bowl was the highest-rated of the BCS bowls. Second was the Rose Bowl, with a 12.4/23. Monday night’s Sugar Bowl got a 9.5/15, and Saturday night’s Fiesta Bowl a 7.4/13.

The Orange Bowl got an L.A. rating of 20.6/32. It drew a 47.0/63 in Oklahoma City, a 39.5/55 in Tulsa, Okla., and a 13.6/20 in Miami, the host city. Texas’ victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl drew a 14.5/29 in L.A.

Larry Stewart

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Syracuse is interested in talking to New York Jet defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson about its coaching vacancy.

Henderson said his agent has been contacted by Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross, a former scout with the Jets.

Other candidates include defensive coordinators Tim Lewis of the New York Giants and Jerry Gray of the Buffalo Bills. Oklahoma assistant Bo Pelini, Texas assistant Greg Robinson and Connecticut Coach Randy Edsall also have been mentioned.

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Arizona State officials are defending the use of 50,000-volt electronic incapacitators by security personnel on some Utah fans who tried to storm the field at Sun Devil Stadium after the Utes’ Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Spokesman Keith Jennings said that the use of the weapons was in line with the department’s use-of-force policy and that officers were trying “to protect the goal posts and the field” for an Arizona Cardinal game the following day.

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Louisville running back Eric Shelton, Florida linebacker Channing Crowder, West Virginia cornerback Adam Jones, Maryland defensive end Shawne Merriman and Clemson cornerback Justin Miller will forgo their final season of eligibility and make themselves available for April’s NFL draft.

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Buddy Teevens, who was fired as coach at Stanford five weeks ago, was named coach at Dartmouth, his alma mater. Teevens, 48, coached Dartmouth from 1987 to ’91 and won at least a share of the Ivy League title twice.... Brian Knorr, who was fired Nov. 18 as Ohio’s coach, was named defensive coordinator at Air Force.... Hawaii running back West Keliikipi pleaded no contest to a count of second-degree theft.