Ohio State Fans Pedaling ESPN Conspiracy Theory for Clemson Loss is Sad
By Michael Luciano
The exact second when there were zeros on the clock in Clemson's controversial, officiating-addled Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State, Buckeye Nation was drumming up conspiracy theories on how the Tigers ended up in the winner's circle.
Their latest attempt makes no sense at all, as they bizarrely claim that ESPN wanted Clemson in the final due to TV ratings, even though Ohio State draws better ratings than Clemson.
Some Ohio State fans are arguing that ESPN intervened to boost Clemson (which drew 40 percent fewer viewers than Ohio State on average this year) over them in the semifinals, despite the lack of logic there: https://t.co/u8FkSGvcQL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 31, 2019
According to viewership data, an average of 3.25 million people watched Clemson games this season. That number is dwarfed by the 5.43 million people who tuned in to Ohio State games on average.
The Big Ten is behind only the SEC in terms of viewership, and a big reason behind that is the fact that traditional powers like Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan are in that conference.
Ohio State rates better than ANYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY team in CFB!!!!!!!!
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 30, 2019
To think ANY network wouldn’t want them is laughable. https://t.co/2UgsIOgIt2
Yes, there were some horrific calls that went in favor of Clemson and against Ohio State, but to act like this was a rig job to get Clemson back into the playoffs for TV ratings when every shred of statistical evidence points in the exact opposite direction is simply foolish.