Florida-FSU tops the rest of Thanksgiving CFB slate

On a weekend dominated by Michigan-Ohio State, the second-biggest rivalry game was somewhat of a surprise.

Airing in a special primetime Black Friday timeslot, Florida-FSU averaged a 3.4 rating and 6.71 million viewers on ABC over the holiday weekend — the highest rated and most-watched college football game on the day after Thanksgiving since 2011, and ABC’s most-watched game on the date since 2005.

FSU’s win, which peaked with 7.1 million viewers, ranks as the most-watched game between the rivals in a decade (2012: 8.5M) and trailed only Michigan-Ohio State on FOX Saturday (17.14M) as the most-watched college football game of the weekend.

Notably, FSU played in the two most-watched games this season to include an ACC team, with their season opener against LSU holding the top spot (7.55M). No other game involving an ACC team cracked the five million mark.

As for ABC’s usual primetime slot, Notre Dame-USC averaged a 3.5 and 6.68 million on Saturday Night Football — the largest audience for that rivalry since their previous Thanksgiving weekend meeting four years ago (7.74M) and second-largest since 2011. Ratings and viewership were on par with Oklahoma-Oklahoma State in the same slot last year (3.5, ~6.5M).

USC’s win faced tough competition from Texas A&M’s upset of LSU on ESPN, the top game of the weekend on cable with a 1.95 rating and 3.92 million viewers. Combined, the ESPN networks had their most-watched college football Saturday night since week one.

Ranking just fourth for the weekend, the Iron Bowl averaged a 3.2 and 6.27 million on CBS — the least-watched matchup of Alabama and Auburn in a full decade (2012: 2.4, 3.9M). It aired directly opposite the weekend’s fifth-place game, TCU’s rout of Iowa State on FOX (2.1, 4.34M), and the most-watched Oregon-Oregon State “Civil War” in a decade on ABC (1.8, 3.56M).

Returning to Black Friday action, NC State-North Carolina pulled a 1.8 and 3.61 million on ABC, Arkansas-Missouri a 1.7 and 3.27 million on CBS and UCLA-Cal a 1.45 and 3.27 million on FOX in a crowded mid-afternoon window. Baylor-Texas topped the Friday charts on cable with a 1.4 and 2.69 million on ESPN.

Rounding out the weekend action, ESPN drew a 1.2 and 2.38 million for the Washington-Washington State “Apple Cup” Saturday night (up from last year on FS1) and a 1.0 and 2.23 million for the Mississippi-Mississippi State “Egg Bowl” Thanksgiving night (the highest for that rivalry in five years).

South Carolina’s upset of Clemson on ABC (1.3, 2.32M) was their most-watched meeting since 2018, with the caveat that they only played one game on Nielsen-rated television in the intervening years. Kansas-Kansas State on FOX (1.2, 2.32M) was the most-watched edition of that rivalry in at least a decade.

Overall, the ESPN networks averaged 2.8 million viewers for games over the holiday weekend — their most-watched Thanksgiving weekend since 2016. ABC in particular averaged 4.1 million.

The full list of Thanksgiving weekend college football ratings is below. Charts for each week of the season are available on this page.