The Michigan State/Notre Dame rivalry picked up where it left off in the ratings department.
The resumption of the Michigan State/Notre Dame series had a 3.2 overnight rating on NBC Saturday night, up 23% from Georgia Tech/Notre Dame in the afternoon last year (2.6) and up 7% from Michigan/Notre Dame in primetime two years ago (3.0). Compared to the rivals’ previous meeting, a 2013 day game on NBC, overnights were identical.
The Spartans’ win, a blowout that tightened in the fourth quarter, tied the highest overnight for Notre Dame on NBC since a triple-overtime game against Pittsburgh in 2012 (4.3).
The 3.2 is also the second-highest for primetime Notre Dame coverage on the NBC family of networks (14 telecasts dating back to 2009), behind only a 2012 matchup with Michigan (4.0).
Detroit was the game’s top market with a 16.0 rating, followed by Indianapolis (9.8). Columbus, OH (6.5) and Cincinnati (5.7) were the top neutral markets, with Chicago and Ft. Myers, FL, rounding out the top five (5.5 each).
