College football TV ratings: How Indiana’s national championship win over Miami shattered record viewership originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Indiana achieved the second 16-0 season in college football history, defeating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 on Jan. 19 to win their first national championship.
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The exciting game at Miami’s own Hard Rock Stadium was decided in the last minute with a heroic play by Fernando Mendoza, followed by Jamari Sharpe’s late interception to secure the win.
Heading into the game, the alumni of each university were known to be stacked. From Miami football legends like Ray Lewis and Michael Irvin, to billionaire Indiana alum Mark Cuban.
However, this not only translated into an outstanding game environment, but also drew fans from all around the world.
The Sporting News has all you need to know about the record TV viewership for the Indiana-Miami College Football Playoff national championship
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How many people watched Indiana-Miami national championship?
Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami drew 30.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched college football game since the 2014 championship between Ohio State and Oregon.
This aligns with the size of each university’s fan base and the significance of the history on the line.
The Hoosiers vs. Hurricanes clash ranks as the second-most-watched CFP national championship game, behind only the Buckeyes and Ducks matchup, which drew 34.1 million viewers.
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There was also a notable rise in viewership compared to last year’s championship, which averaged 22.1 million.
Most-watched games of 2026 College Football playoff
Here are all the playoff games from this season ranked by viewership.
|
Rank |
Round |
Matchup |
Viewership |
|
1 |
National Championship |
Indiana 27, Miami 21 |
30.1M |
|
2 |
Quarterfinal |
Indiana 38, Alabama 3 |
24.9M |
|
3 |
Quarterfinal |
Miami 24, OSU 14 |
19M |
|
4 |
Quarterfinal |
Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34 |
18.7M |
|
5 |
Semifinal |
Indiana 56, Oregon 22 |
18M |
|
6 |
Quarterfinal |
Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0 |
15.9M |
|
7 |
Semifinal |
Miami 31, Ole Miss 27 |
15.8M |
|
8 |
First round |
Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24 |
14.9M |
|
9 |
First round |
Miami 10, Texas A&M 3 |
14.8M |
|
10 |
First round |
Ole Miss 41, Tulane 10 |
6.2 M |
|
11 |
First round |
Oregon 51, JMU 34 |
4.4M |
Most watched College Football national championship games
Here are the highest-rated College Football national championship games since the playoff began in 2014-15.
|
Rank |
Year |
Game |
Viewership |
|
1 |
2015 |
Ohio State 42, Oregon 20 |
33.9M |
|
2 |
2026 |
Indiana 27, Miami 21 |
30.1M |
|
3 |
2018 |
Alabama 26, Georgia 23 |
28.4M |
|
4 |
2020 |
LSU 42, Clemson 25 |
26.2M |
|
5 |
2016 |
Alabama 45, Clemson 40 |
26.1M |
|
6 |
2019 |
Clemson 44, Alabama 16 |
25.7M |
|
7 |
2017 |
Clemson 35, Alabama 31 |
25.3M |
|
8 |
2024 |
Michigan 34, Washington 13 |
25M |
|
9 |
2022 |
Georgia 33, Alabama 18 |
22.6M |
|
10 |
2025 |
Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23 |
22.1M |
|
11 |
2021 |
Alabama 52, Ohio State 24 |
19.1M |
|
12 |
2023 |
Georgia 65, TCU 7 |
17.2M |
