The game likely would have been at least a couple of sports higher had the Cards been playing an opponent closer to Nashville than College Station.
Overall, bowl attendance was down for a sixth straight year. Here are the final numbers:
| 2015-16 COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAME ATTENDANCE | |||
| BOWL | MATCHUP | ATTENDANCE | CHANGE FROM 2014-15 |
| Rose | Iowa-Stanford | 94,268 | +3%~ |
| Cotton (Semifinal) | Alabama-Michigan State | 82,812 | +16%^ |
| National Championship | Clemson-Alabama | 75,765 | -12% |
| Sugar | Ole Miss-Oklahoma State | 72,117 | -3%~ |
| Texas | LSU-Texas Tech | 71,307 | Less than +1% |
| Fiesta | Ohio State-Notre Dame | 71,123 | +6% |
| Peach | Houston-Florida State | 71,007 | +8% |
| Orange (Semifinal) | Clemson-Oklahoma | 67,615 | +16%^ |
| Alamo | TCU-Oregon | 64,569 | +7% |
| Citrus | Michigan-Florida | 63,113 | +30% |
| Liberty | Arkansas-Kansas State | 61,136 | +19% |
| Birmingham | Auburn-Memphis | 59,430 | +98% |
| Gator | Georgia-Penn State | 58,212 | +4% |
| Outback | Tennessee-Northwestern | 53,202 | +21% |
| Music City | Texas A&M-Louisville | 50,478 | -16% |
| Holiday | USC-Wisconsin | 48,329 | -13% |
| Belk | Mississippi State-NC State | 46,423 | +2% |
| Las Vegas | Utah-BYU | 42,213 | +28% |
| Sun | Miami-Washington State | 41,180 | -14% |
| Russell Athletic | Baylor-North Carolina | 40,418 | +1% |
| Cactus | Arizona State-West Virginia | 39,321 | +11% |
| Armed Forces | Cal-Air Force | 38,915 | +3% |
| Pinstripe | Duke-Indiana | 37,218 | -24% |
| Military | Navy-Pittsburgh | 36,352 | +6% |
| Quick Lane | Minnesota-Central Michigan | 34,217 | +43% |
| Foster Farms | Nebraska-UCLA | 33,527 | -4% |
| New Orleans | Arkansas State-Louisiana Tech | 32,847 | -3% |
| Independence | Virginia Tech-Tulsa | 31,289 | -18% |
| New Mexico | Arizona-New Mexico | 30,289 | +5% |
| GoDaddy | Bowling Green-Georgia Southern | 28,656 | -22% |
| Boca Raton | Temple-Toledo | 25,908 | -12% |
| Hawaii | Cincinnati-San Diego State | 22,793 | -10% |
| Miami Beach | South Florida-Western Kentucky | 21,712 | +5% |
| Poinsettia | Boise State-Northern Illinois | 21,501 | -35% |
| Camellia | Ohio-Appalachian State | 21,395 | +6% |
| Arizona* | Colorado State-Nevada | 20,425 | -- |
| Heart of Dallas | Washington-Southern Miss | 20,229 | -35% |
| Potato | Akron-Utah State | 18,876 | +4% |
| Cure* | San Jose State-Georgia State | 18,536 | -- |
| St. | |||