It’s no wonder ABC didn’t want to lay out more cash for the Bowl Championship Series. Despite yet another year of controversy over who should be playing in college football’s national championship game, Tuesday’s Orange Bowl produced disappointing ratings.
   According to Nielsen overnights, the showdown between Oklahoma and Southern Cal on ABC averaged a 14.0 household rating from 8 to 11 p.m. Though final ratings will change due to the live nature of the game (overnights reflect time period rather than program data, and the game ended at 11:15), the rating will be close to 2002’s record-low 14.3 household average.
   Though there’d been much pregame hype over who deserved to play in the game – Auburn, Oklahoma and USC were all undefeated entering bowl season – the game itself proved a boring bust.
   USC jumped to a 38-10 lead at halftime, and ratings dipped accordingly. At 9 p.m. the game averaged a 16.1 household rating. By 10:30 p.m. that had dipped 35 percent to a 10.4 rating.
   The Orange Bowl averaged 22 million total viewers, even to last year’s fast nationals average for the national championship game. Last year’s game finished with a 14.8 final household rating, second-lowest in BCS history.
   ABC, which has carried the BCS games since the system’s inception in 1999, passed on a BCS contract extension last year, instead letting Fox claim rights to the games starting in 2007. Fox agreed to pay $80 million per year, but that outlay comes at a dicey time for the BCS.
   Viewers seem to be turned off rather than intrigued by the seemingly annual controversy over who should play in the series’ title game. Last year USC was relegated to the Rose Bowl while LSU and Oklahoma faced off in the Sugar Bowl. That 2004 national championship was off 14 percent from the controversy-free 2003 game.
   Final numbers for the game will be out later today or tomorrow.
   Elsewhere last night, NBC’s new comedy “Committed” debuted to very respectable ratings, averaging a 4.5 18-49 rating against some formidable competition at 9:30 in ABC’s Orange Bowl telecast and CBS’s “The Amazing Race.”
   That performance helped propel NBC to No. 2 for the night in the demo with a 5.1 average rating and 13 share, behind only ABC’s 7.7/19 average for the Orange Bowl. CBS finished the night third at 3.3/8, Fox fourth at 1.9/5, the WB fifth at 1.3/3, and UPN sixth at 1.2/3.
   ABC led at 8 p.m. for the first hour of USC’s romp over Oklahoma, averaging an 8.3 rating. NBC was second with a 4.8 average for the first hour of “The Biggest Loser,” followed by CBS’ 2.6 average for “Red Carpet Confidential.”
   ABC’s game led again during the 9 p.m. hour, averaging an 8.3 18-49 rating. NBC was second with a 4.9 average for the last half-hour of “Biggest Loser” (5.3) and the premiere of “Committed” (4.5), with CBS third with a 4.4 average for “The Amazing Race.”
   With Southern Cal blowing out Oklahoma, ABC slipped during the 10 p.m. hour to a 6.4 average rating, though that was still good for No. 1. NBC was second with a 6.0 average for “Dateline” and CBS third with a 2.6 average for a “Judging Amy” repeat.
   ABC finished first for the night among households, averaging a 14.0 rating and 21 share. NBC was second at 8.8/13, CBS third at 6.3/9, Fox fourth at 3.2/5, and UPN and the WB tied for fifth at 2.1/3.