College Football Playoff: Ohio State-Texas, Notre Dame-Penn State set record-breaking viewership numbers

The College Football Playoff semifinal matchups set record highs in viewership numbers for ESPN last week.

The Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas is officially the most-watched edtion of the game in history. Averaging 20.6 million viewers, the semifinal matchup is the highest-rated Friday telecast across all networks in over four years. The Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State averaged 17.8 million viewers, and is the most-watch version of the game since 2006 and became the highest-rated non-NFL sporting broadcast since the 2019 NBA Finals.

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ESPN's presentations of the 2025 #CFBPlayoff Semifinals scored multi-year viewership highs, including:
 
🏈 Most-watched @CottonBowlGame on record (1991-pres.)
🏈 2nd-most-watched @OrangeBowl in nearly 20 years pic.twitter.com/99af1VpWOP

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 14, 2025

The Cotton Bowl peaked at 22.7 million viewers while the Orange Bowl topped out at 19.9 million.

Ohio State would go on to defeat Texas 28-14 after Jack Sawyer forced Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers to fumble deep in Buckeyes territory and returned it 83 yards to seal the game during the final minutes of regulation.

“[Texas] is a very good team,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said after the Cotton Bowl victory. “… It came down to the fourth quarter and I believe that the resilience that we’ve had to show throughout the entire season and through some of these guys’ career has led us to this opportunity to win this game and go play for a national championship.”

For the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame’s win over Penn State was just as dramatic. Tied at 24, Penn State QB Drew Allar threw an interception to Christian Gray and returned it to PSU territory with less than a minute left in regulation. This set up a game-winning field goal try for Notre Dame place kicker Mitch Jeter, who hit a 41-yard field goal to kick the Fighting Irish to the national championship game.

What a gritty performance, and they found a way when it matters the most to get their job done,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said after the win. “Penn State was a heck of a football team. I had a lot of respect for them coming into the game but have more after the game. … But these guys are resilient, and they found a way to make a play when it mattered the most.”

Now, the Buckeyes and Irish meet in the national championship game for the first-time ever. on Jan. 20. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.