Most-watched college football games of Week 1: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame dominates television ratings

Heading into Week 1 of college football, one game stood out in front of the others. Two giants were clashing, with Notre Dame traveling to Colombus to face off against Ohio State. The Buckeyes were able to emerge victorious, having one of the more impressive wins to begin the season.

Another impressive number was the television rating from the game. Per The Atheltic, an average of 10.5 million viewers tuned into the Notre-Dame Ohio State game. Quite the impressive number, especially when comparing it to last season.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Clemson and Georgia kicked off the 2021 season in the exact same time slot but only averaged 8.86 million viewers. A double-digit viewing number did not pop up for college football until the final week of the regular season when Michigan finally got its win over Ohio State.

Having two programs such as the Buckeyes and Irish was always going to bring a big number. Add in the broadcast was on ABC and in prime time, and it was truly a dominating performance on Saturday night.

Ohio State, individually, will always bring some of the biggest crowds to television. The program was a big reason why the Big Ten has a fresh new contract with three different networks worth over $7 billion.

Sunday night college football takes center stage

Unlike Saturday night, there was only one game for people to watch on Sunday. Florida State was able to defeat LSU in a thrilling showdown, blocking an extra point with no time left on the clock. An average of 7.55 million people were watching — good enough for second throughout the weekend.

While Florida State and LSU may not be as big names as Notre Dame and Michigan, two teams from the south will always bring eyeballs. Especially when the Tigers have a first-year head coach in Brian Kelly. An exciting end to the game could have done nothing but helped as well.

Other top ratings from across the country

• Oregon-Georgia on ABC (6.2M)
• Colorado St-Michigan on ABC (3.9M)
• Penn St–Purdue on FOX (3.5M)
• West Virginia–Pitt on ESPN (3.2M)
• Utah–Florida on ESPN (3.0M)

Thursday night was when college football really felt back, with a rivalry being renewed and another Big Ten matchup taking place. Both the West Virginia-Pitt Backyard Brawl (on ESPN) and Penn State-Purdue (on Fox) matchup did well when competing against one other.