Rout hurts ratings

The BCS title game’s preliminary television rating is up from last season, but the lopsided score kept viewership down. Alabama’s 42-14 rout over Notre Dame drew a 15.7 overnight rating Monday on ESPN. That’s up 14 percent from last year’s game, but down from the 16.1 for ESPN’s first BCS championship two years ago. The matchup between traditional powers in Alabama and Notre Dame created the potential for a record-setting audience. But once the Crimson Tide went up 28-0 by halftime, viewers had reason to skip the second half. The rating peaked midway through the first half and decreased as Alabama pulled away. – AP