Last night’s Bowl Championship Series title game had a lot going against it: It aired after a week of flagging BCS ratings, it turned into a blowout in the third quarter, and controversy had swirled for weeks over whether eventual 41-14 winner Florida even belonged in the game. Plus it faced a rash of new series premieres on cable.

But it overcame all that to register strong ratings last night on Fox, well down from last year’s record-setting BCS finale but not close to worst-ever territory, as Media Life had predicted.

The game earned a 19.1 Nielsen overnight household rating from 8:30 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. That was down 16 percent from last year’s 22.7 for the USC-Texas title game, which was the most-watched BCS title game ever. But it was well above the 14.7 earned by the 2005 game.

Fox throttled the competition in primetime, more than doubling runner-up CBS’s 12.5 million total viewers average for the night. Florida-Ohio State averaged 26.4 million from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., 7.5 million fewer than ABC drew for the game last year.

Among adults 18-49, Fox averaged a 9.5 in primetime, down 21 percent from last year’s average.

As a reminder, fast nationals measure timeslot data not actual program data. Final ratings released later today will provide a more accurate picture of Fox’s performance.

Why the big tune in, when viewers usually switch channels during a blowout or fail to tune in when the game is marred by controversy? One reason may be that Ohio State is a very popular team, and fans will support the Buckeyes until the last minute hoping for an improbable victory.

Another may be that the tide has finally turned for the BCS and that, after weeks of debate over whether the BCS works, viewers are now more inclined to watch and decide for themselves rather than believe the sports pundits.

Whatever the reason, it was a strong finale after cumulative ratings for the previous bowl games had fallen double-digit percentages compared with last year.

Football boosted Fox to a comfortable first-place finish for the night among 18-49s, as the network posted a 9.5 average rating and a 22 share. CBS was a distant second at 4.2/10, ABC third at 2.8/7, NBC fourth at 2.6/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 0.8/2.
 
Fox took each hour of the night, starting with an 8.6 rating at 8 p.m. for the first hour of the Florida-Ohio State game. NBC was second with a 3.9 for “Deal or No Deal,” ABC third with a 3.3 for “Wife Swap” and CBS fourth with a 3.0 average for “How I Met Your Mother” (3.1) and “The Class” (2.9). Univision finished fifth that hour with a 2.4 for “La Fea Mas Bella” and CW sixth with a 0.9 average for repeats of “Everybody Hates Chris” and “All of Us.”
 
The 9 p.m. hour was Fox’s best, as it led again with a 10.6 rating for football. CBS took over second place that hour with a 4.4 average for “Two and a Half Men” (4.7) and “Old Christine” (4.1), with ABC third with a 3.2 for “Supernanny” and NBC fourth with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Heroes.” Univision remained fifth, though it slipped to a 1.7 for “Mundo de Fieras,” while CW stayed in sixth with a 0.7 average for repeats of “Girlfriends” and “The Game.”
 
Fox finished the night on top with a 9.4 for football during the 10 p.m. hour, with CBS placing second with a 5.1 for “CSI: Miami.” ABC was third with a 2.0 for “What About Brian,” NBC fourth with a 1.8 for another “Heroes” rerun and Univision fifth with a 1.5 for “Cristina.”
 
Among households, Fox led the night with a 16.0 average rating and a 24 share. CBS came in second at 8.3/12, with NBC third at 5.2/8, ABC fourth at 4.7, Univision fifth at 2.4/4 and CW sixth at 1.4/2.