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SEC football games usually make for good TV, no matter who the matchup is. But SEC showdown games that carry a lot of College Football Playoff implications can make for blockbuster TV ratings, and that’s exactly what happened yet again in Week 9.
This time, ABC was the direct beneficiary. The network’s Week 9 tripleheader on Saturday produced 3 of the 5 highest-rated games, and wouldn’t you know it that 2 of those 3 games were SEC battles.
The Missouri-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa in the 3:30 p.m. ET window was Week 9’s most-watched afternoon game with 5.7 million viewers. The ratings peaked at 6.3 million viewers, which tells you how good Alabama is for ratings because the actual game was a dud, with the Crimson Tide rolling to a 34-0 victory to keep their Playoff hopes alive. But even when it’s a blowout, Alabama can equal great ratings, and that was the formula on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the LSU-Texas A&M showdown in College Station was Week 9’s most-watched primetime game, with the 7:30 p.m. ET start on ABC being watched by 5.1 million viewers. Peak viewership for the Tigers-Aggies game was 5.6 million viewers, with the battle having major Playoff implications moving forward.
Finally, ABC’s noon game wasn’t an SEC matchup, but it involved Notre Dame, which is also always a good formula for strong TV ratings. The Fighting Irish’s neutral-site battle with Navy was watched by 2.9 million viewers, with peak viewership coming in at 3.2 million viewers.
Final @ESPNCFB Week 9 numbers are in & ABC scored 3 of the top 5 games!
🏈 @MizzouFootball–@AlabamaFTBL | 5.7M viewers
🏈 @LSUfootball–@AggieFootball | 5.1M viewers
🏈 @NDFootball–@NavyFB | 2.9M viewers pic.twitter.com/wXwtB4sN1Q— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 29, 2024
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
