The SEC and Big Ten topped the charts during the 2015 college football regular season.
The eight highest rated and most-watched college football games this season involved at least one SEC or Big Ten team, with the Alabama/Florida SEC Championship Game topping the charts at a 7.8 and 12.8 million viewers.
Rounding out the top five were Michigan State/Ohio State in week twelve (6.6, 11.1M), LSU/Alabama in week ten (6.4, 11.1M), Ohio State/Michigan in week thirteen (6.4, 10.8M) and Ohio State/Virginia Tech in week one (6.0, 10.6M).
Excluding the SEC and Big Ten, the season’s highest rated game was Florida State/Clemson in week ten (4.5) and the most-watched was Clemson/North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game (7.9M).
Going by network, CBS aired the two most-watched games of the season but just three of the top sixteen. ESPN and ABC combined for 11 of the top sixteen audiences, topping the charts in 10 of the 14 weeks in which multiple games were played. FOX nearly cracked the top five with its top game of the season, Michigan State/Iowa in the Big Ten Championship (5.7, 9.8M). NBC topped out at a 2.5 rating for USC/Notre Dame in week seven and 4.1 million for Texas/Notre Dame in week one.
College Football’s Top 25 Most-Watched Games
Asterisk (*) indicates regional coverage
| # | Rtg. | Vwrs | Game | Date/Time | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.8 | 12.76M | Alabama Florida |
12/5, 4:00 PM | CBS |
| 2 | 6.4 | 11.06M | LSU Alabama |
11/7, 8:00 PM | CBS |
| 3 | 6.6 | 11.05M | Mich. St. Ohio St. |
11/21, 3:30 PM | ABC |
| 4 | 6.4 | 10.83M | Ohio St. Michigan |
11/28, Noon | ABC |
| 5 | 6.0 | 10.59M | Ohio St. Va. Tech |
9/7, 8:00 PM | ESPN |
| 6 | 5.7 | 9.82M | MSU Iowa |
12/5, 8:19 PM | FOX |
| 7 | 5.3 | 9.30M | Alabama Auburn |
11/28, 3:30 PM | CBS |
| 8 | 4.3 | 7.97M | Wisconsin Alabama |
9/5, 8:00 PM | ABC |
| 9 | 4.1 | 7.92M | Clemson UNC |
12/5, 8:07 PM | ABC |
| 10 | 4.8 | 7.90M | Oregon MSU |
9/12, 8:06 PM | ABC |
| 11 | 4.5 | 7.65M | Notre Dame Clemson |
10/3, 8:07 PM | ABC |
| 12 | 4.6 | 7.61M | Mississippi Alabama |
9/19, 9:18 PM | ESPN |
| 13 | 4.7 | 7.56M | FSU Clemson |
11/7, 3:30 PM | ABC |
| 14 | 4.5 | 7.40M | Michigan St. Michigan |
10/17, 3:28 PM | ESPN |
| 15 | 4.3 | 7.32M | Notre Dame Stanford |
11/28, 7:36 PM | FOX |
| 16 | 4.3 | 7.30M | Ohio St. Indiana* |
10/3, 3:35 PM | ABC |
| 17 | 4.5 | 7.13M | Army Navy |
12/12, 3:00 PM | CBS |
| 18 | 4.2 | 7.05M | Alabama Georgia |
10/3, 3:30 PM | CBS |
| 19 | 4.3 | 6.97M | Tennessee Alabama |
10/24, 3:30 PM | CBS |
| 20 | 3.9 | 6.78M | Florida LSU |
10/17, 7:24 PM | ESPN |
| 21 | 3.9 | 6.19M | Iowa Nebraska |
11/27, 3:30 PM | ABC |
| 22 | 3.9 | 6.11M | Michigan Penn St. |
11/21, Noon | ABC |
| 23 | 3.6 | 5.98M | Notre Dame Temple |
10/31, 8:07 PM | ABC |
| 24 | 3.8 | 5.88M | Oklahoma Baylor |
11/14, 8:07 PM | ABC |
| 25 | 3.3 | 5.87M | Penn St. Ohio St. |
11/17, 8:06 PM | ABC |
