On a weekend where the ACC took center stage, the SEC still attracted the largest audience.
Saturday’s Auburn/Texas A&M college football game drew a 4.5 overnight rating on CBS, up 36% from Florida/South Carolina last year (3.3), up 29% from Auburn/LSU in 2011 (3.5), and the highest rated game of the weekend in the metered markets.
In all but one week this season, the highest rated college football game in the metered markets has featured a Big Ten or SEC team.
Ranking second for the week, the much-hyped clash between Florida State and Clemson earned a 3.7 overnight on ABC — up 6% from coverage featuring FSU/Miami last year (3.5), and up 68% from a delayed Texas Tech/Oklahoma game in 2011* (2.2). The game, a 37-point blowout in favor of FSU, was trounced head-to-head by Game 6 of the MLB ALCS on FOX (6.5).
Regional action on ABC earlier in the day drew a 3.3 overnight, up 38% from last year (2.4), and up 65% from 2011* (2.0).
Over on NBC, the primetime USC/Notre Dame game had a 2.5 overnight — down 7% from BYU/Notre Dame in the afternoon last year (2.7), and but up 108% from Navy/Notre Dame in 2011 (1.2). Last year’s Notre Dame/USC game, which aired on ABC, earned a 10.0 overnight. The last time the teams played on NBC, the game drew a 2.6.
As usual, FOX brought up the rear on broadcast. The network’s Noon ET TCU/Oklahoma State game drew a 1.0 overnight, matching Baylor/Kansas State a week earlier as the network’s worst overnight of the season.
The weekend’s top draw on cable was South Carolina/Tennessee on ESPN (2.4). Tennessee’s upset win topped Vanderbilt’s concurrent upset of Georgia on CBS (1.8).
ESPN2’s top game was Mississippi’s upset of LSU (1.2), while Fox Sports 1 topped the charts with a 0.7 for Washington State/Oregon.
* ABC’s 2011 numbers may have been affected by a Nielsen coding error.
(Weekend overnights from Sports Business Daily, ShowBuzz Daily)
