College football’s TV ratings surge continued in Week 4, with ABC once again emerging as a big winner. The network maintained its strong presence in the Top 10 most-watched games of the week.
Miami’s win over Florida led the charge in primetime while the Oklahoma vs. Auburn thriller anchored the afternoon window of games. With conference play on the horizon for most power conferences, viewership numbers are on a strong trajectory entering the final week of September.
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On3 compiled data from press releases, Sports Media Watch and Sports Business Journal to break down the week’s college football TV ratings. Here are the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 3.
Note: SEC Network, ACC Network, CBS Sports Network and Peacock do not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership. Data for Purdue at Notre Dame on NBC was not available at the time of publication. Other figures will be added as necessary.
Date/Time: Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.5 million
The most-watched game of Week 4 was in Coral Gables for an in-state showdown. Florida kept things close against Miami early in the second half, but the Hurricanes got two fourth-quarter touchdowns to create separation and seal the 26-7 victory over the Gators at Hard Rock Stadium.
Weather impacted Saturday’s Syracuse at Clemson game, but there were flashes of lightning early as the Orange laid the groundwork for an upset. A surprise onside kick helped Fran Brown’s group take momentum to eventually come away with a victory, but quarterback Steve Angeli suffered a significant injury in the effort.
*viewership number prior to weather delay and move to ESPN2.
Date/Time: Sept. 19, 8 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 3.0 million
A Friday night showdown turned into a TV ratings win for FOX in Week 4 of the college football season. Iowa took down Rutgers in a back-and-forth affair in Piscataway, which came in front of more than 3 million viewers in the primetime affair.
Date/Time: Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Viewers: 2.5 million
A lengthy weather delay meant NBC aired Purdue at Notre Dame before switching to Illinois at Indiana. The transition took place amid a Fighting Irish blowout, and the Hoosiers also put on a clinic against the Fighting Illini to make a statement in the 63-10 victory.
Date/Time: Sept. 20, Noon ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 2.1 million
In an intriguing non-conference matchup, Memphis used a late rally to stun Arkansas, 32-31, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in the Noon ET window. The matchup cracked the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 4 as the Tigers stayed undefeated on the year.
Date/Time: Sept. 20, 11 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 2.1 million
Michigan State fans found themselves staying up late on Saturday as the Spartans took on USC for an 11 p.m. ET kickoff from the Coliseum. The Trojans came away with the 45-31 win, but the matchup drew 2.1 million – more than the primetime game between Arizona State and Baylor on the network.
Date/Time: Sept. 20, 7 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 1.9 million
Rounding out the Top 10, another intriguing SEC matchup took place between South Carolina and Missouri. The Tigers came away with the key home victory, 29-20, to stay undefeated on the season and spoil LaNorris Sellers’ return from a concussion suffered against Vanderbilt.
