ABC averaged 7.6 million viewers through college football Kickoff Saturday slate, second-best ever

There was plenty of excitement for college football to return and it showed with ABC’s TV ratings from Saturday’s season kickoff. ESPN reported that the three games the network broadcast on ABC averaged 7.6 million viewers, the second-most ever for an opening week.

It was led by primetime game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M that kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game saw an average of 8.2 million people tune in and peaked at 9.3 million viewers. That made it the most-watch Saturday night game of the past two years and it was also the most-streamed regular season college football game ever.

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Fans who tuned in were treated to a contest that came down to the wire with the Fighting Irish scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 remaining. They eventually added on a field goal to win 23-13 and start their season off 1-0.

Georgia and Clemson got the day started on ABC with the noon ET game. Although the Bulldogs ended up blowing out the Tigers by a score of 34-3, it didn’t stop the matchup from averaging 7.9 million viewers to finish just behind Notre Dame-Texas A&M for the most-watched game of the day.

However, it did set a new record for the most-watched Week 1 noon game on record.

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A rivalry game between Miami and Florida followed the Georgia-Clemson matchup in the afternoon slot. That was a rout in favor of the Hurricanes, which won 41-17 as the Gators allowed the most points ever in a home opener.

That saw an average of 6.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched late afternoon game since 2017. It also set the stage for the night game to come in and continue to deliver big numbers.

It was an exciting opening week of college football and the interest is sure to continue to stay high all season long. The TV viewership from the weekend certainly sets high expectations heading into Week 2, which promises to be just as entertaining.

ABC will kick off its coverage next week with a matchup between Arkansas and Oklahoma State at noon ET. South Carolina at Kentucky will then follow in the afternoon and Tennessee at NC State will close things out in the evening.