A humdrum slate of college football games did not generate blockbuster numbers Saturday.
Saturday’s Michigan State/Notre Dame college football game drew a 3.2 overnight rating on NBC Saturday afternoon, down 20% from Michigan/Notre Dame in primetime last year (4.0), but up 19% from Michigan State/Notre Dame in 2011 (2.7).
The game earned the highest overnight rating of the weekend for college football on any network. A Notre Dame game has ranked first or second in each of the past three weeks.
Over on ABC, regional action on “Saturday Night Football” drew a 3.1 overnight — down a tick from Clemson/Florida State last year (3.1) and down 23% from LSU/West Virginia in 2011 (4.0).
The network’s afternoon regional window drew a 2.0 overnight, down 17% from last year (2.4), and down 46% from 2011 (3.7).
The “SEC on CBS” attracted the third-largest overnight of the weekend, with a 3.0 for Tennessee/Florida — up 25% from Missouri/South Carolina last year (2.4), and up 15% from Arkansas/Alabama in 2011 (2.6).
Bring up the rear on broadcast was Arizona State/Stanford on FOX, which earned a mere 1.3 overnight — the network’s lowest ever for a primetime college football game. Compared to last year, the 1.3 marked a 24% drop from a Kansas State/Oklahoma game.
Shifting gears to cable, the top telecast of the weekend was ESPN’s Auburn/LSU telecast, which earned a 1.9.
(Sat. overnights from Sports Business Daily, ShowBuzz Daily)
