On Saturday, Ohio State beat Notre Dame in thrilling fashion. The Buckeyes trailed late in the fourth quarter but scored a last-second touchdown. Chip Traynaum sealed the deal with a one-yard run that literally left one second on the clock.
Ohio State football is highly regarded, as it is ranked the sixth-best college football team in the country. At ninth, Notre Dame is nearly as touted. Thus, it is no surprise Saturday night's game made viewership history, via Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
âNotre Dame-Ohio State rating [is] on par with averages for the 2023 NBA championship series (11.6 M) and 2022 MLB World Series (11.7 M) and got four times the viewership of the 2023 NHL Stanely Cup finals (2.3 M).â
The game averaged a whopping 10.5 million viewers, which ranked as NBC Sports' second-most watched regular season college football game ever. The close matchup only made the game more appealing to watch.
Ohio State barely managed a field goal in the first half, while Notre Dame remained scoreless. The third quarter saw both teams score a touchdown before they entered a dogfight in the fourth. The anticipation of a clutch ending likely drew in more viewers, and the result did not disappoint.
The victory sets the stage for the Ohio State football program to continue its rise to the top of college football. It also makes room for more college football viewership records to be broken. Soon enough, the record for the most-watched regular season game in history will be broken. The Buckeyes will not settle for second-best as they chase a bid for the College Football Playoff.