College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 9

Week 9 of the college football season didn’t seem like it had many “notable” games as the calendar prepared to flip to November. However, the schedule delivered in a big way — including a top-10 upset — and the Nielsen ratings showed it, according to Sports Media Watch.

It’s not much of a surprise that the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was the biggest draw of the day. Florida vs. Georgia was the biggest game of the day in Jacksonville, and the Bulldogs’ blowout win over the Gators drew the most viewers of Week 9.

A notable primetime college football slate drew solid numbers, as well, as Colorado became a big TV ratings draw once again against UCLA.

1. Florida vs. Georgia

Channel: CBS
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 5.95 million

CBS got another big victory for the Florida-Georgia game, which came in just shy of 6 million average viewers. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators 43-20 in the rivalry matchup at EverBank Stadium, and Carson Beck put together an impressive showing in front of the big audience.

2. Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

Channel: NBC
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 4.87 million

Luke Fickell’s matchup with his alma mater was NBC’s Big Ten Saturday Night game, and Ohio State got the better of Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. The game drew solid ratings as the second-most watched game of the week and adds to NBC’s momentum as it goes through its first season as a Big Ten media rights partner.

3. UCLA vs. Colorado

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 4.66 million

Colorado returned to the big stage against UCLA in primetime, and the Bruins came away 28-16 victory at the Rose Bowl. Although the Buffaloes are now 4-4, they’re still one of the biggest TV draws in college football, and it’ll be interesting to see how the ratings look through the rest of their tough schedule.

4. Kansas vs. Oklahoma

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Oct. 28, Noon ET
Viewers: 3.6 million

The biggest upset of Week 9 took a little longer than anticipated because of some lightning, but Kansas’ huge victory over Oklahoma still brought in the fourth-most viewers of the week. It was the Jayhawks’ first win over the Sooners since 1997, and their first top-10 victory since 1984.

5. Penn State vs. Indiana

Channel: CBS
Date/Time: Oct. 28, Noon ET
Viewers: 3.4 million

Indiana gave Penn State plenty of fits, but the Nittany Lions pulled off the victory thanks to — at last — a big play from Drew Allar to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The Hoosiers’ performance came at a good time with plenty of people tuning in to CBS’ early game to give the network two of the top five most-watched games of Week 9.

6. Utah vs. Oregon

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 2.81 million

Utah vs. Oregon was one of the most intriguing matchups of the college football slate, but even with College GameDay in attendance to set the table, the TV ratings didn’t jump off the page. The Ducks blew out the Utes 35-6, which probably didn’t help keep audiences tuned to FOX very long considering some of the other games in that slot.

7. Kentucky vs. Tennessee

Channel: ESPN
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 7 p.m. ET
Viewers: 2.51 million

An intriguing matchup in the SEC saw Tennessee fight off Kentucky thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown. The primetime slate featured some interesting games, and ESPN managed to get solid viewership for the Vols vs. Wildcats matchup.

8. Texas vs. BYU

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 2.38 million

Steve Sarkisian faced his alma mater as Texas took on new Big 12 foe BYU on Saturday without Quinn Ewers due to injury. It was Maalik Murphy’s show, and the Longhorns’ offense rolled to the 35-6 victory in front of more than 2 million people.

9. Wake Forest vs. Florida State

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Oct. 28, Noon ET
Viewers: 2.09 million

Florida State continued to show its high ceiling with its 41-16 victory over Wake Forest, and Jordan Travis had a huge day to lead the charge. He threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns to help improve his case for the Heisman Trophy, and he did so in front of an average of 2 million people.

10. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina

Channel: ESPN
Date/Time: Oct. 28, Noon ET
Viewers: 1.9 million

Texas A&M vs. South Carolina was one of the more interesting matchups of Week 9 — mostly for what it meant for the coaches. It was Jimbo Fisher who came away with the victory over Shane Beamer, though, as the Aggies pulled off the 30-17 win.

TV ratings have been impressive this college football season, even though they dipped a bit during the Week 9 slate of games. The stakes are going to get even higher with November upon us, though, now that the College Football Playoff rankings are starting to come out.