There's a reason that, whenever somebody says "Hey, it's SCIENCE!!" you should assume they're wrong. You want proof?
Another link on the SBNation page is to an article purporting to rank SCIENTIFICALLY the "watchability" of all of the bowl games:
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/12/7/9860680/bowl-game-rankings-2015-2016-college-football-playoff
You don't need to bother looking for the Rose Bowl in the Top 5 in any category...or, for that matter, in the top 15 overall, and but for the unscientific "adjustment" factor, it wouldn't even be in the top 20, ranking well behind... the Chicken Bowl's UCLA v. Nebraska [#12] matchup, among other games. UNC v. Baylor is "scientifically" rated at #6. I obviously must have been watching a different Baylor team last Saturday and a different UCLA team 2 weeks ago on TV.
Of course, the 3X ticket premium for the Rose Bowl certainly correlates well with its relative unwatchability.Â
But, hey, ... it's SCIENCE!