The SEC on CBS topped the college football ratings charts for a second-straight week as the Florida-Tennessee rivalry delivered its largest audience in 13 years.
Saturday’s Florida-Tennessee college football game averaged a 3.0 rating and 5.57 million viewers on CBS, the most-watched game between the teams since 2009 (6.62M). Ratings increased 26% and viewership 34% from Texas A&M-Arkansas on the same week last year. Last year’s Tennessee-Florida game aired on ESPN in primetime and averaged just over half as many viewers (1.75, ~3.3M).
The Volunteers’ win, which peaked with 6.74 million viewers, was the highest rated and most-watched college football game of the weekend. The SEC on CBS has topped the charts in both of its weeks this season.
The Big Ten took second and third for the weekend. Ohio State’s primetime rout of Wisconsin pulled a 2.4 and 4.59 million on ABC, on par with West Virginia-Oklahoma last year (2.5, ~4.5M). Michigan’s competitive win over Maryland drew a 2.5 and 4.38 million on FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” down double-digits from last year’s comparable Notre Dame-Wisconsin game (3.1, ~5.4M).
Rounding out the top five, Arkansas-Texas A&M drew a 1.8 and 3.50 million on ESPN — up slightly from last year’s previously-mentioned Tennessee-Florida game — and Notre Dame-North Carolina drew a 2.0 and 3.46 million on ABC, up double-digits from last year (Rutgers-Michigan: 1.6, ~2.8M). Just outside of the top five, Kanssas State’s primetime upset of Oklahoma drew a 2.0 and 3.37 million on FOX.
Other notable weekend results included a 1.9 and 3.18 million for Clemson’s overtime win over Wake Forest on ABC — nearly doubling Texas Tech-Texas a year ago (1.0, ~1.7M). This year’s Texas-Texas Tech game drew a 1.3 and 2.28 million on ESPN, up slightly year-over-year (Clemson-NC State: 1.2, ~2.2M). Oregon-Washington State topped the Pac-12 charts with a 1.4 and 2.27 million on FOX, up double-digits from last year (Iowa State-Baylor: 1.1, ~2.0M).
Going back to Friday night, Virginia-Syracuse scored a 1.1 and 1.79 million on ESPN; there was no comparable window last year.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 9.27, network PR)
