FOX announces Illinois vs. Nebraska rating drew over 4 million viewers
‘FOX College Football Friday’ has now been a massive success through two weeks on the network.
No. 24 Illinois vs. No. 22 Nebraska drew an audience of 4,213,00 on Friday per FOX Sports according to Nielsen Media Research. That viewership made it the most-watched telecast of the day and the best telecast on the network for a Friday night since Game 1 of the 2023 World Series.
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The ranked matchup in the Big Ten between the Fighting Illini and Cornhuskers then peaked during a 15-minute window from 11:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET, which was around the overtime portion of the game, at over another million with 5,066,000.
No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State was already a great debut with an audience of 2,582,000 that peaked at 2,883,000 viewers. Still, this was up 63% and more from that with the overtime peak essentially doubling those figures.
Both teams met in Lincoln on Friday at 3-0 and as teams in the AP Poll that week. It lived up to it too with a close contest that was never more than a possession apart for the duration of it. Illinois and Nebraska were then tied again at 24 by the end of the fourth to send it to overtime. The Fighting Illini got it on the road from there after scoring a touchdown in two plays. They then pushed the ‘Husker offense all the way back before ending it with a sack of Dylan Raiola.
Luke Altmyer ended up winning the quarterback battle by going 21/27 (77.8%) for 215 yards and four passing touchdowns in being the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. The Illini’s run game was also productive with an additional 166 yards. Their defense, again, also held in the end with one interception as well as five sacks.
FOX has clearly found an audience based on the numbers over the past two Fridays in college football. It’s now a wonder as to what this week’s game will end up posting with that as Washington goes to play Rutgers in Piscataway.
Big Ten names Players of the Week after Week 4
A lot happened across the new-look Big Ten this weekend. With that, the conference has recognized its top performers from the weekend.
On Monday, the Big Ten handed out their accolades for the Players of the Week.
Co-Offensive Players of the Week
- Illinois QB Luke Altmyer & Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson
Defensive Player of the Week
Special Teams Player of the Week
Freshman of the Week