To the victor go the spoils, as the saying goes, and in college football the spoils are television viewers. For the second consecutive season, the national champion played in (and won, obviously) the three most-watched games of the college football season.
ESPN announced on Wednesday that 22 million people and change tuned in to Ohio State's victory over Notre Dame, ending the longest and most turbulent season in the sport's century-and-half long history.
There's a lot of data to pack through here, so let's do our best to break it all into bite-sized chunks.
1. The 12-team College Football Playoff as a television product: a mixed bag. This year's national championship was down 15 percent from last year, and this year's game involved two A+ brands to last year's one. Whether the viewership drop was due to a loss of momentum in pushing the game back a week, an increase in competition from the Presidential inauguration and MLK Day, or all of the above, the late-January national title game is here to stay, for now. The 2025 season is set to end Jan. 19, 2026. The 2026 season won't conclude until Jan. 25.
This season was another win for the "the Rose Bowl should be the national championship game crowd." The Rose Bowl, a quarterfinal, out-rated both semifinal games, and the most-watched game over the past two seasons remains last season's Michigan-Alabama Rose Bowl, which attracted 27.76 million viewers.
While the 12-team bracket did not increase the ratings of individual games, the expanded format and the added meaning it carried to a wider number of games generated increased interest down the line. The number of games to draw 20, 15, 10, 7 and 5 million viewers were all up; the number of 10+ million games nearly doubled year-over-year.
2. Even in the streaming age, network TV is still king. The numbers showed that the powers that be running the College Football Playoff did the sport a disservice by allowing Disney to warden off the CFP on cable. Disney's network offering (ABC) more than doubled the appearances of ESPN, despite ESPN exclusively airing all 11 CFP games. After all, there's a reason every NFL playoff game from the divisional round and on airs on network television; even ESPN simulcast its Texans-Chiefs AFC Divisional game on ABC.
ABC will simulcast the national championship game starting with the 2026 season, but not insisting on simulcasts for the entire Playoff is a clear mistake by the CFP Board of Managers, a group comprised of university presidents.
Appearances by network:
45: ABC
21: ESPN
17: Fox
8: CBS
7: NBC
2: TNT
3. SEC 1, Big Ten 0. In addition to the expanded CFP, the 2024 season was also the first year of a new TV landscape in the regular season. The Big Ten casts a wide net through an NFL-style schedule, with games on Fox in the early afternoon, CBS in the late afternoon, and NBC at night in a contract that began in 2023. Beginning this. year, the SEC did the opposite, going all-in with Disney, primarily ABC.
Suffice to say, this was a good arrangement for the SEC and ABC.
ABC stacked its lineup with SEC triple-headers most Saturdays, and viewers rewarded that partnership by parking their remote on ABC and leaving it there all day. SEC programs made a collective 82 appearances among the top 100 games to the Big Ten's 56. A year ago, the number was 66-65 in favor of the SEC, even when using the 2024 alignment.
Most satisfying to the folks in Birmingham, and concerning to the B1G offices in suburban Chicago, is the depth of TV appeal in the SEC and the lack thereof in the Big Ten. Fifteen of the 16 SEC schools made at least two appearances on the list, while seven of the 18 Big Ten schools appeared once or not at all. (Among those seven, Rutgers's only appearance was in a bowl game, which occurred outside the B1G TV deal.)
4. Assimilating the Pac-4 into the Big Ten was anything but seamless. Oregon's undefeated regular season astoundingly generated only three top-100 appearances: when the Ducks played Ohio State and Penn State.
Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA combined for 19 appearances as Pac-12 members in 2023, and just seven in their first year the Big Ten's Western Flank. Certainly a change in team fortunes accounted for a large portion of the drop -- the Ducks, Huskies, Trojans and Bruins combined for 42 victories in 2023 and just 31 in '24. But three top-100 appearances apiece by Oregon and USC and one combined among UCLA and Washington was not part of the plan.
5. There is an asterisk in regards to the Big Ten's numbers that must be addressed. CBS's parent company Paramount's contract with Nielsen expired during the football season, and the companies' dispute continues as of this writing. I can't explain why some CBS games were counted while others were not, but it's likely that games like Penn State-USC, Notre Dame-USC, Oregon-Michigan, Indiana-Michigan and others would have been on this list if not for the dispute. Does the Paramount-Nielsen spat account for all of the 26-game gap between the SEC and B1G? No. But that's certainly part of it.
6. The Big 12 and ACC both have points in their favor. While the SEC and Big Ten have broken away as the sport's superpowers, an intense battle remains to be college football's No. 3 conference. Both conferences will come away from 2024 their own talking points.
The Big 12 edged the ACC in total appearances, 26-20. However, the ACC will argue the Big 12's appeal boils down to one factor: the Prime Effect. Colorado easily led both conferences with 11 total appearances, and the Buffaloes are responsible for BYU, Kansas, West Virginia and Utah's appearances on the list, and for Kansas State and Texas Tech's regular season appearances. The Big 12 did not have a non-Colorado regular-season game crack the top 100, while the ACC had four such games.
Needless to say, it remains to be seen if Colorado's star continues shining as brightly without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, and/or if the Buffaloes fade in Year 3 under Deion Sanders.
On the flip side, the Arizona State-Iowa State Big 12 Championship out-drew the Clemson-SMU ACC Championship by nearly a million viewers, and Arizona State's double OT classic appearance in the Peach Bowl (17.3 million) out-drew the ACC's combined CFP viewership (8.9 million for Clemson, 6.6 million for SMU). In fact, the non-Playoff Alamo Bowl (8 million) out-drew SMU's CFP game.
(Tying in to points 1 and 2: the Alamo Bowl aired on a Saturday evening on ABC, while SMU was on TNT. Both contests competed against NFL regular season games.)
Appearances by conference:
82: SEC
56: Big Ten
26: Big 12
20: ACC
7. What about Notre Dame? After 2024, it's fair to question the Fighting Irish's standing as a major television draw. The 14-2 Golden Domers checked in behind the other three CFP semifinalists, plus Colorado, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee, and tied with Florida, LSU and Nebraska. The Notre Dame-Ohio State final fell several million below last year's Michigan-Washington final (as explained above, that might not entirely be their fault.)
However, Notre Dame's semifinal date with Penn State also fell several million shy of its Ohio State-Texas counterpart, on what is traditionally the "better" TV night of Thursday as opposed to Friday. The only Notre Dame regular-season home game to crack the list was the Irish's loss to Northern Illinois.
Appearances by program:
12: Ohio State
11: Colorado, Georgia, Texas
9: Alabama
8: Michigan, Penn State
7: Tennessee
6: Florida, LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame
4: Georgia Tech, Indiana, Miami, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina
8. Would you stop yapping and show me the list already? As you wish.
1. Ohio State-Notre Dame, CFP National Championship -- 22.1 million (ESPN)
2. Ohio State-Oregon, Rose Bowl -- 21.09 million (ESPN)
3. Ohio State-Texas, Cotton Bowl -- 20.6 million (ESPN)
4. Notre Dame-Penn State, Orange Bowl -- 17.8 million (ESPN)
5. Texas-Arizona State, Peach Bowl -- 17.3 million (ESPN)
6. Georgia-Texas, SEC Championship -- 16.6 million (ABC)
7. Notre Dame-Georgia, Sugar Bowl* -- 15.8 million (ESPN)
8. Tennessee-Ohio State, CFP First Round -- 14.86 million (ABC)
9. Penn State-Boise State, Fiesta Bowl -- 13.86 million (ESPN)
10. Indiana-Notre Dame, CFP First Round -- 13.39 million (ABC)
11. Georgia-Texas -- 13.19 million (ABC)
12. Michigan-Ohio State -- 12.3 million (Fox)
13. Georgia-Alabama -- 11.99 million (ABC)
14. Penn State-Oregon, Big Ten Championship -- 10.5 million (CBS)
15. Alabama-Tennessee -- 10.23 million (ABC)
16. Tennessee-Georgia -- 9.96 million (ABC)
17. Ohio State-Penn State -- 9.77 million (Fox)
18. Ohio State-Oregon -- 9.6 million (NBC)
19. Texas-Michigan -- 9.19 million (Fox)
20. Texas-Texas A&M -- 9.45 million (ABC)
21. Army-Navy -- 9.4 million (CBS)
22. Indiana-Ohio State -- 9.32 million (Fox)
23. Clemson-Texas, CFP First Round -- 8.9 million (TNT)
24. LSU-USC -- 8.62 million (ABC)
25. Georgia Tech-Georgia -- 8.47 million (ABC)
26. BYU-Colorado, Alamo Bowl -- 8 million (ABC)
27. Notre Dame-Texas A&M -- 7.92 million (ABC)
28. Alabama-LSU -- 7.9 million (ABC)
29. Texas-Oklahoma -- 7.63 million (ABC)
30. Clemson-Georgia -- 7.58 million (ABC)
31. Auburn-Alabama -- 7.16 million (ABC)
32. Georgia-Ole Miss -- 7.08 million (ABC)
33. Alabama-Oklahoma -- 6.98 million (ABC)
34. Florida-Georgia -- 6.97 million (ABC)
35. Iowa State-Arizona State, Big 12 Championship -- 6.9 million (ABC)
36. Iowa State-Miami, Pop-Tarts Bowl -- 6.79 million (ABC)
37. Georgia-Kentucky -- 6.6 million (ABC)
37. SMU-Penn State, CFP First Round -- 6.6 million (TNT)
39. Alabama-Michigan, ReliaQuest Bowl -- 6.5 million (ESPN)
40. Miami-Florida -- 6.35 million (ABC)
41. USC-Michigan -- 6.32 million (CBS)
42. Tennessee-Oklahoma -- 6.27 million (ABC)
43. Colorado-Kansas -- 6.22 million (Fox)
44. LSU-Florida -- 6.02 million (ABC)
45. Clemson-SMU, ACC Championship -- 6 million (ABC)
45. South Carolina-Alabama -- 6 million (ABC)
47. Nebraska-Ohio State -- 5.96 million (Fox)
48. Tennessee-Arkansas -- 5.93 million (ABC)
49. Colorado-Nebraska -- 5.67 million (NBC)
50. Texas A&M-South Carolina -- 5.56 million (ABC)
51. Missouri-Alabama -- 5.54 million (ABC)
52. LSU-Texas A&M -- 5.06 million (ABC)
53. Oklahoma-Auburn -- 5.04 million (ABC)
54. Alabama-Wisconsin -- 5.03 million (Fox)
55. Ole Miss-Duke, Gator Bowl -- 5 million (ESPN)
56. Florida State-Georgia Tech -- 4.99 million (ESPN)
57. LSU-South Carolina -- 4.94 million (ABC)
58. Auburn-Georgia -- 4.93 million (ABC)
59. Texas A&M-Florida -- 4.8 million (ABC)
60. North Dakota State-Colorado -- 4.76 million (ESPN)
61. Texas-Arkansas -- 4.56 million (ABC)
62. Kentucky-Texas -- 4.47 million (ABC)
63. Iowa-Ohio State -- 4.46 million (CBS)
64. Boston College-Florida State -- 4.44 million (ESPN)
65. Michigan-Indiana -- 4.39 million (CBS)
66. Mississippi State-Ole Miss -- 4.33 million (ABC)
67. Illinois-South Carolina, Citrus Bowl -- 4.3 million (ABC)
68. Arkansas-Texas Tech, Liberty Bowl -- 4.21 million (ESPN)
68. Baylor-LSU, Texas Bowl -- 4.21 million (ESPN)
70. Nebraska-Boston College, Pinstripe Bowl -- 4.19 million (ABC)
71. Vanderbilt-Georgia Tech, Birmingham Bowl -- 4.05 million (ESPN)
72. Michigan-Washington -- 4.04 million (NBC)
73. Utah-Colorado -- 4 million (Fox)
74. Kentucky-Ole Miss -- 3.99 million (ABC)
75. Marshall-Ohio State -- 3.96 million (Fox)
76. Northern Illinois-Notre Dame -- 3.93 million (NBC)
77. Florida-Texas -- 3.7 million (ABC)
78. Colorado-Texas Tech -- 3.68 million (Fox)
79. Baylor-Colorado -- 3.64 million (Fox)
80. Tennessee-Vanderbilt -- 3.61 million (ABC)
82. Nebraska-Iowa -- 3.6 million (NBC)
82. Minnesota-Michigan -- 3.6 million (Fox)
84. Kansas State-Rutgers, Catcus Bowl -- 3.5 million (ESPN)
85. Purdue-Ohio State -- 3.48 million (Fox)
86. Miami-Georgia Tech -- 3.46 million (ESPN)
87. Minnesota-Virginia Tech, Duke's Mayo Bowl -- 3.38 million (ESPN)
88. Penn State-Wisconsin -- 3.34 million (NBC)
89. Oklahoma State-Colorado -- 3.31 million (ABC)
90. Missouri-Texas A&M -- 3.27 million (ABC)
91. Kansas State-Colorado -- 3.26 million (ESPN)
92. Virginia Tech-Miami -- 3.26 million (ESPN)
93. Florida-Tennessee -- 3.25 million (ESPN)
93. Colorado-Colorado State -- 3.25 million (CBS)
95. Nebraska-Indiana -- 3.18 million (Fox)
96. Illinois-Penn State -- 3.09 million (NBC)
97. Michigan-Illinois -- 3.01 million (CBS)
98. Boise State-UNLV, Mountain West championship -- 3.01 million (Fox)
99. Penn State-West Virginia -- 2.99 million (Fox)
100. Nebraska-USC -- 2.98 million (Fox)
* - Rescheduled due to New Orleans terrorist attack