A top ten thriller involving the defending national champions delivered college football’s top rating of the season.
Saturday’s Michigan State/Ohio State college football game earned a 6.6 final rating and 11.1 million viewers on ABC, up 175% in ratings and 174% in viewership from Nebraska/Wisconsin last year (2.4, 4.0M) and up 136% and 151%, respectively, from regional action in 2013 (2.8, 4.4M).
The Spartans’ last-second win ranks as the highest rated college football game of the season on any network. The previous high was a 6.4 for LSU/Alabama on CBS in week ten, which aired in primetime. It also ranks as the second-most watched, trailing only LSU/Alabama (11.06M to 11.05M).
Going back further, ratings and viewership were the highest for an afternoon college football game since Alabama/Auburn on CBS two years ago (8.2, 13.8M) and the highest for a 3:30 PM game on ABC since Michigan/Ohio State in 2006 — a matchup of the #1 and #2 teams in the nation (13.0, 21.0M).
ESPN/ABC has now aired six of the seven highest rated college football games this year and eight of the nine most-watched. The networks have aired the top game of the week nine times in 12 tries this season, compared to six such occurrences all of last year.
In other action, TCU/Oklahoma had a 2.4 and 3.9 million in primetime — down 56% in ratings and viewership from Florida State/Miami last year (5.4, 8.7M) and down 25% and 23%, respectively, from Stanford/USC in 2013 (3.2, 5.0M). It trailed competing coverage of Baylor/Oklahoma State on FOX (2.6, 4.3M), marking just the second time this season that Saturday Night Football has trailed FOX head-to-head.
UPDATE 12/1: Michigan/Penn State led off the tripleheader with a 3.9 and 6.1 million, up 5% in ratings and 7% in viewership from Ohio State/Minnesota last year (3.7, 5.7M).
Highest College Football Ratings, 2015 Season
Asterisk (*) indicates featured game of regional window
| Rtg. | Vwrs. | Game | Date/Time | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | 11.05M | MSU/Ohio St. | 11/21, 3:30 PM | ABC |
| 6.4 | 11.06M | LSU/Alabama | 11/7, 8:00 PM | CBS |
| 6.0 | 10.59M | Ohio St./Va. Tech | 9/7, 8:00 PM | ESPN |
| 4.8 | 7.90M | Oregon/MSU | 9/12, 8:00 PM | ABC |
| 4.7 | 7.56M | FSU/Clemson | 11/7, 3:30 PM | ABC |
| 4.6 | 7.61M | Miss./Alabama | 9/19, 9:15 PM | ESPN |
| 4.5 | 7.65M | ND/Clemson | 10/3, 8:00 PM | ABC |
| 7.40M | MSU/Michigan | 10/17, 3:30 PM | ESPN | |
| 4.3 | 7.97M | Wisc./Alabama | 9/5, 8:00 PM | ABC |
| 7.30M | Ohio St./Indiana* | 10/3, 3:30 PM | ABC | |
| 6.97M | Tenn./Alabama | 10/24, 3:30 PM | CBS | |
| 4.2 | 7.05M | Alabama/Georgia | 10/3, 3:30 PM | CBS |
| 3.9 | 6.98M | Florida/LSU | 10/17, 7:30 PM | ESPN |
| 6.11M | Michigan/Penn St. | 11/21, 12 PM | ABC |
(Sat. numbers from ESPN, TV Media Insights, Nielsen)
