Hogs Draw Largest Viewership in Texas Bowl History

January 3, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas football earned the largest Texas Bowl viewership in the bowl’s history during its 31-7 rout of the Texas Longhorns on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. in Houston’s NRG Stadium.

The Arkansas-Texas matchup pulled 5.8 million viewers on ESPN’s Monday Night Football time slot. According to Sports Media Watch, Texas Bowl viewership was up 44 percent from last year’s Syracuse-Minnesota game (4.0 million) and up 26 percent from the 2012 Texas Tech-Minnesota contest (4.6 million). The Texas Bowl’s telecast history spans nine years, dating back to 2006.

The Arkansas-Texas contest was the third-most watched bowl game of the season, excluding the College Football Playoff games and its access bowls. The mark trails only the Holiday (6.8 million) and Belk (6.4 million) Bowls.

Arkansas finished the season at 7-6, its first winning football season since 2011. The Razorbacks had one of the best defenses in the nation, ranking No. 10 nationally in scoring defense (19.2 points per game allowed) and No. 11 in total defense (323.4 yards per game allowed).

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