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College Football

National Championship ratings down from last year’s game, ESPN reveals 

Bryce Lazenby

By Bryce Lazenby

Published:

National Championship ratings took a dip this year when compared to last season’s finale.

Per ESPN, the title game between Ohio State and Notre Dame brought in 22.1 million viewers. Last year’s game between Washington and Michigan brought in 25 million viewers, signifying a noticeable drop-off for this year.

The Ohio State-Notre Dame game reached a peak of 26.1 million viewers.

While this year’s title game did not perform as well as last year’s, the ratings were still strong.

This game is now the most-viewed non-NFL sporting event of the past year. It was also the most-watched game of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. More than half of the coveted 18-to-49-year-old age group who were watching TV were watching the title game.

Last year’s title game had a 45% rating increase from the prior season, so it will be disappointing for ESPN to see this year’s decline. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues next year in the 2nd season of the 12-team Playoff.

A factor in this game’s ratings could have been the lopsided nature of the first half. At halftime, the Buckeyes had a 21-7 lead. At one point in the 3rd quarter, the Buckeyes had a 31-7 lead, which may have led to casual viewers changing the channel.

The Fighting Irish did an admirable job of making it a competitive game, however. The defense held the Buckeyes to just 13 points in the 2nd half and were only down by 1 score late in the 4th quarter. Ultimately, the Buckeyes were able to escape Atlanta with a 34-23 victory and secure their 1st National Championship since 2014.

Bryce Lazenby

Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.

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