There was little at stake, but the USC/Notre Dame rivalry pulled in a solid number on NBC.
The USC/Notre Dame college football game drew a 2.9 overnight rating on NBC Saturday night, up 26% from North Carolina/Notre Dame in the afternoon last year (2.3), up 16% from USC/Notre Dame in primetime two years ago (2.5), and the highest of the season for Notre Dame on NBC (five telecasts).
The 2.9 easily tops last year’s Notre Dame/USC game on FOX (1.5) and ranks as the highest overnight for the rivalry in three years — since their 2012 matchup on ABC, which saw Notre Dame clinch an appearance in the national championship game (10.0). It is also the highest for the rivalry on NBC since 2009 (4.5).
Notre Dame’s win faced tough competition, trailing Ohio State/Penn State on ABC (3.5), Florida/LSU on ESPN (4.0) and the Cubs/Mets MLB playoff game on TBS (5.4).
Indianapolis was Saturday’s top market with a 7.3 rating, followed by Los Angeles (6.8), San Diego (5.2), Las Vegas (4.6) and Tulsa and Portland (4.3 in each).
