An anticipated Week 5 of the college football season lived up to the hype, and the TV ratings followed suit. Viewership continues to grow as the calendar flips to October.
ABC was once again the big winner in Week 5 with two of the top three games. The network also topped 10 million viewers for Alabama at Georgia, marking the fifth time already this year. As a whole, viewership is up 19% over the last year and 36% over the last five years, according to analyst Michael Mulvihill.
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On3 obtained Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings data for the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 5. Here is the full breakdown.
Note: SEC Network, ACC Network and CBS Sports Network do not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership. Other figures will be added as necessary.
Alabama at Georgia
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 10.4 million
The big winner in the primetime window, Alabama once again got the better of Georgia, coming away with the 24-21 victory. With an average of 10.4 million viewers tuning in for the matchup, it became the most-watched game of Week 5 as ABC continues to cash in through the early part of the season.
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Oregon at Penn State
(Ben Lonergan | The Register-Guard | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Viewers: 8.5 million (including Peacock)
The White Out game at Penn State delivered for NBC as Oregon came to town for the primetime affair. It went to double overtime before the Ducks held on to take down the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. NBC drew 7.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, while the network announced it reached 8.5 million viewers including Peacock.
LSU at Ole Miss
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.7 million
A key matchup in the 3:30 p.m. ET saw Ole Miss and LSU square off in a battle of unbeaten teams. Ultimately, the Rebels held on to get a huge home win over the Tigers as ABC clinched two of the top three spots in the Week 5 college football TV ratings.
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Ohio State at Washington
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 5.2 million
CBS landed an intriguing Big Ten matchup in Ohio State at Washington. The Huskies held strong with the Buckeyes in the first half, but two CJ Donaldson touchdowns out of halftime helped propel Ohio State to the 24-6 victory in Seattle. At 5.2 million viewers, CBS just missed its largest audience of the year, set in Week 4 with 5.3 million people watching Michigan at Nebraska.
Florida State at Virginia
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Date/Time: Sept. 26, 7 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 4.4 million
In ESPN’s most-watched Friday night game ever, Virginia pulled off a thrilling upset. It took double overtime, but the Cavaliers took down Florida State in Charlottesville in front of 4.4 million people – a big TV ratings win for the network.
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Notre Dame at Arkansas
Date/Time: Sept. 27, Noon ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 4.3 million
The most-watched game in the Noon ET window, Notre Dame’s offense broke out as the Fighting Irish flew past Arkansas in Week 5. ABC also had all three games appear in the Top 10 most-watched games of the week once again with an average of 4.3 million people tuning in for what turned out to be Sam Pittman’s final game as Razorbacks head coach.
USC at Illinois
Date/Time: Sept. 27, Noon ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 4.1 million
Another key Big Ten matchup was in Champaign, and USC at Illinois went down to the wire. Ultimately, Fighting Illini kicker David Olano drilled the 41-yard field goal to send Illinois to the 34-32 victory as Bret Bielema’s group bounced back from a resounding Week 4 loss at Indiana.
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Auburn at Texas A&M
(Maria Lysaker | Imagn Images)
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 4 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 2.47 million
Looking to find a spark on offense, Auburn looked to make a late surge against Texas A&M in Week 5. The Aggies’ defense held strong, though, and eventually got the 16-10 victory in front of 2.47 million viewers on ESPN.
BYU at Colorado
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 10:15 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 2.46 million
In a key Big 12 matchup, Colorado jumped out in front early against BYU. But the Cougars answered the call and closed the gap before scoring the eventual game-winning touchdown with 14 minutes left to get the 24-21 win over the Buffaloes.
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Georgia Tech at Wake Forest
Date/Time: Sept. 27, Noon ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 1.9 million
Rounding out the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 5, Georgia Tech – fresh off an upset win over Clemson – took on Wake Forest and found itself facing a first-half deficit. The Yellow Jackets rallied in the second half, though, and got the game-winning touchdown in overtime to get the 30-29 victory in Winston Salem.
College football’s TV ratings surge set a strong foundation for October, now that conference play is in full swing across the country. So far, ABC has been the big draw and has plenty of momentum entering Week 6.
