One week before their big clash, Ohio State and Michigan delivered some of ESPN’s best college football overnights this season.
ESPN earned a 4.2 overnight rating for Saturday’s Ohio State/Michigan State college football game, up 180% from North Carolina/Virginia Tech last year (1.5), up 223% from Clemson/Georgia Tech in 2014 (1.3), and the network’s second-best overnight of the season. Mississippi/Florida State on Labor Day holds the top spot (5.3).
The 4.2 overnight is also the second-highest for a Noon ET game this season, regardless of network, behind only FSU/Louisville on ABC in week three (4.5).
The Buckeyes’ narrow win provided a solid lead-in for Indiana/Michigan later in the day, which had a 3.2 overnight — up 167% from USC/Oregon last year and ESPN’s third-best mark of the season.
In other action, USC/UCLA had a 1.8 overnight late Saturday night — up 29% from both Cal/Stanford last year and Arizona State/Oregon State in 2014 (1.4 both years). ESPN did not disclose overnights for Clemson/Wake Forest early Saturday evening, but the network said all four of its broadcast windows increased year-over-year. Last year’s comparable Mississippi State/Arkansas game had a mere 1.0.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN)
