OSU’s Loss To Michigan Draws Nearly 16M Viewers

As if Ohio State’s 42-27 loss to Michigan wasn’t embarrassing enough, the Buckeyes now have to contend with the knowledge that it was the most-watched regular season college football game in FOX history.

The first edition of The Game since 2019 brought in 15,893,000 viewers, making this the most-watched and most-streamed regular season college football game in the network’s history.

Additionally, this year’s game was up 27 percent over 2019, when 12,501,000 people watched Ohio State defeat Michigan 56-27.

With 15,893,000 viewers on FOX, Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan matchup ranks as @CFBonFOX’s most watched college football game ever 🥇

Starting at 11:00 AM ET, #BigNoonKickoff scored 3,392,000 viewers, it’s best regular season performance ever 🎉 pic.twitter.com/f5fOtaM4Hv

— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) December 1, 2021

Also this past weekend, 10,369,000 viewers tuned in to CBS to watch Alabama sneak past Auburn in the Iron Bowl in four overtimes. Third place in the ratings this season was Michigan State’s 37-33 win over Michigan on Oct. 30, which drew over nine million viewers.

Overall, Ohio State’s loss to Michigan was the most-watched regular season college football game since No. 1 LSU hosted No. 2 Alabama in a 46-41 win on Nov. 9, 2019.