CFP Embarrassment: Big-Time Quarterfinal Matchup Had Fewer Fans In The Stands Than a High School Game
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
There was an unusually large number of empty seats for Thursday’s Orange Bowl game between the Oregon Ducks and Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Dan Lanning’s fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks made easy work of No. 4-ranked Texas Tech, cruising to a 23-0 shutout victory in the Orange Bowl. They’ll face off against No. 1-ranked Indiana in the College Football Playoff semifinal. The Hoosiers crushed the Crimson Tide by a final score of 3-83 in the Rose Bowl.
The Oregon-Texas Tech game was played at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Even though it was a marquee game, there were plenty of empty seats before kickoff:
This is comically and tragically bad for CFP, college football’s premier product.
Campus games are a must. pic.twitter.com/SttVGOTbOU
— Matt Hayes (@MattHayesCFB) January 1, 2026
Well, at least the attendance wasn’t as bad as the Birmingham Bowl, which featured Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
Per Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic, the announced attendance was 65,021. Russo noted that “plenty of empty seats” remained visible, though. Lanning also believes that the higher seed should have home advantage in the College Football Playoff.
“In my opinion, this game should be played at Texas Tech,” Lanning said. “The higher-seeded team, there should be a home-field advantage for them.”
Another Year, Another Uncompetitive Orange Bowl Game
The Orange Bowl has certainly not provided a lot of drama in recent years. Oregon’s 23-0 shutout win over Texas Tech is just the latest occasion of this historic bowl game ending in a lopsided victory.
Fans were treated to an entertaining contest last year, with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 27-24. The year before that? Georgia defeated Florida State 63-3. In 2022, Tennessee defeated Clemson 31-14.
Texas Tech was the higher seed against Oregon, so it was stunning to see them lose in blowout fashion like this. Surely, the Ducks can expect a tougher game against Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers.
