An exciting Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game between Ohio State and Texas, which won with a final-minute touchdown, lifted Fox to an easy victory Monday night.

The network averaged a strong 5.5 adults 18-49 rating and 13 share in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, 77 percent ahead of No. 2 ABC at 3.1/8.

As a reminder, ratings for the bowl game are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.

Nielsen had delayed the release of the data by nearly 24 hours after a processing error.

The game peaked with a 5.7 rating at 9 p.m., but ratings could adjust up when final numbers come out later today or tomorrow, as it was a close game that lasted well past 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, despite the strong competition from Fox’s football, ABC’s new reality lineup fared decently, with the network's best Monday numbers in six weeks, while NBC’s “Superstars of Dance” saw some falloff from Sunday’s debut.

“The Bachelor” returned with a 3.1 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., second in the timeslot behind Fox. Lead-out “True Beauty,” a new reality show, maintained that average at 10 p.m., and was the night's top-rated non-sports show among adults 18-34, averaging a 3.1.

“Dance,” also airing from 8 to 10 p.m., averaged a 2.7 in 18-49s, down 13 percent from Sunday’s 3.1 for its debut.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 5.5 average overnight rating and a 13 share. ABC was second at 3.1/8, CBS third at 2.7/7, NBC fourth at 2.5/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 1.3/3.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 5.2 for its first hour of football, followed by ABC with a 2.9 for the first half of “Bachelor.” CBS and NBC tied for third at 2.7, CBS for repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother” and NBC for “Dance,” with Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Cuidado con el Angel” and CW sixth with a 1.4 for “Gossip Girl.”
 
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 5.7 for football, while ABC remained second with a 3.3 for more “Bachelor.” CBS was third with a 2.8 for repeats of “Two and a Half Men” and “Worst Week,” NBC fourth with a 2.7 for more “Dance,” Univision fifth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la Sangre” and CW sixth with a 1.2 for “One Tree Hill.”
 
At 10 p.m. Fox led once more, this time with a 5.5 for football, with ABC second again with a 3.1 for “Beauty.” CBS was third with a 2.6 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami,” NBC fourth with a 2.0 for “Momma’s Boys” and Univision fifth with a 1.2 for “Cristina.”
 
Fox also led the night among households with a 9.7 average overnight rating and a 14 share. CBS was second at 5.9/9, ABC third at 5.6/8, NBC fourth at 4.9/7, and Univision and CW tied for fifth at 2.0/3.