College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 8

Some big games highlighted the Week 8 college football slate, and the TV ratings reflected it. Rivalry games were on the docket once again, including big ones in the SEC and Big Ten.

Teams across the country are preparing for the race to their respective conference championships — and with the first College Football Playoff rankings set to come out in a week, the games are becoming that much more important.

TV viewership has already been impressive across college football this year, and the updated Nielsen ratings showed that was again the case in Week 8, according to Sports Media Watch.

Ohio State vs. Penn State

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Oct. 21, noon ET
Viewers: 9.96 million

A top-10 showdown between two undefeated teams delivered in a big way for FOX as Ohio State fought off Penn State in Columbus. The matchup was the third-highest rated game of the year, only behind the Buckeyes game against Notre Dame and Colorado vs. Oregon in Week 4.

Alabama vs. Tennessee

Channel: CBS
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 8.01 million

The Third Saturday in October is almost always a big draw, and this year was no different as Alabama defeated Tennessee at Bryant Denny Stadium. It was CBS’ biggest TV audience of the college football season, even though it averaged 3 million fewer viewers than last year’s ratings.

Duke vs. Florida State

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 4.08 million

Florida State looked like it might be on upset alert until late when the Seminoles scored three straight touchdown to fight off Duke in prime time. Mike Norvell’s group remains undefeated and atop the ACC through seven games, and the game had the biggest audience of a jam-packed late window.

Michigan vs. Michigan State

Channel: NBC
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 3.73 million

Michigan left no room for doubt in a 49-0 trouncing of rival Michigan State to keep the Paul Bunyan Trophy in Ann Arbor. For NBC, it was another big prime time game and the second Michigan game to average more than 3 million viewers this season.

Utah vs. USC

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 8 p.m. ET
Viewers: 3.23 million

For the second straight season, Utah handed USC a regular season loss, and this one came in front of a big TV audience. The Trojans have now lost two straight, both coming in the late window and with plenty of eyes on the games.

Texas vs. Houston

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 4 p.m. ET
Viewers: 3.08 million

Texas vs. Houston wasn’t just happening in the MLB’s American League Championship Series. It also happened on the football field, with more than 3 million people watching the Longhorns beat the Cougars — while also seeing Quinn Ewers leave with an injury.

Washington State vs. Oregon

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 2.35 million

Oregon bounced back well from a Week 7 loss to Washington, and Bo Nix continues to look like one of the top quarterbacks in the country. The Ducks handled Washington State with ease, 38-20, and delivered quality ratings for ABC during the afternoon window.

UCF vs. Oklahoma

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 21, noon ET
Viewers: 2.17 million

The Dillon Gabriel Bowl had to go up against Penn State-Ohio State, but Oklahoma vs. UCF still brought in more than 2 million viewers for ABC. It was a closer game than some might have thought, but the Sooners held on for the 31-29 victory to stay undefeated.

Ole Miss vs. Auburn

Channel: ESPN
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 7 p.m. ET
Viewers: 1.8 million

For the first time since returning to the SEC as Auburn’s head coach, Hugh Freeze took on Ole Miss last week. The Tigers have struggled this year and did so again in a 28-21 home loss, but still came in the top 10 most-watched college football games of the week, according to the TV ratings.

Minnesota vs. Iowa

Channel: NBC
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 1.68 million

Low scoring was expected as Iowa took on Minnesota — the over-under closed at about 30 points — and that was the case as the Golden Gophers pulled out a 12-10 victory. It wasn’t without a bit of controversy, though, as a late punt return by Cooper DeJean was taken off the board because of an invalid fair catch call.

As the season has gone along, college football viewership has remained strong with TV ratings delivering every week for some of the big games. Saturdays are going to get even more interesting, though, with conference title and CFP races at stake — not to mention plenty of parity this season.