Ohio State-Michigan Earns Over 19 Million Viewers, Most-Watched College Football Game In 12 Years

Ohio State’s top-three matchup with Michigan on Saturday was one of more highly-anticipated games in recent college football memory, and that hype was reflected in the television ratings. 

The Buckeyes’ 30-24 loss to the Wolverines garnered 19,065,000 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched regular season college football game on any network since 2011, according to FOX Sports PR. The matchup was also the second-most watched edition of The Game, only behind the 2006 edition between the two programs later dubbed “The Game of the Century,” which garnered more than 21 million viewers. 

Ohio State’s loss to Michigan, which peaked at 22.9 million viewers late in the fourth quarter, eclipsed the previously most-watched game between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama on Nov. 5, 2011, which had more than 20 million viewers tune in to see the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide in overtime by a score of 9-6. 

The matchup also nearly doubled the ratings of the second-most watched game this season, with Oregon’s 42-6 win over Colorado on Sept. 23 — also broadcast on FOX — trailing far behind with 10.03 million viewers. 

This also marked the second time this season that an Ohio State game earned the most viewership, joining the Buckeyes’ thrilling 17-14 win over Notre Dame that was aired on NBC and garnered 9.98 million viewers. In 11 games broadcast on non-streaming networks — excluding Ohio State’s Oct. 14 on Peacock — the Buckeyes garnered a total of 66.6 million viewers across four networks (BTN, CBS, FOX, NBC).