Ohio State vs. Notre Dame Pulled In Monster TV Ratings On NBC

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 23: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 23, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Ohio State put an exclamation point on a thrilling college football Saturday with a 17-14 win over Notre Dame. The monumental matchup drew notable ratings.

NBC reported that the clash was the second most-watched college football game in network history with 10.5 million average viewers. A whopping 14.2 million people watched as the Buckeyes led a 15-play drive that culminated with a game-winning touchdown run in the final second.

No college football game garnered such a vast audience on NBC since No. 2 Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Florida State on Nov. 13, 1993.

NBC Sports Registers its Largest Audience for Regular-Season College Football in 30 YEARS with Saturday’s @OhioStateFB
vs. @NDFootball

More: https://t.co/PvprPY5aS2 pic.twitter.com/sMrJzGGWE2

— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) September 25, 2023

Ross Dellgenger of Yahoo Sports noted that the viewership rivaled ratings from the 2022 MLB World Series and this year’s NBA Finals.

For most of the game, those millions of fans witnessed a low-scoring slog. The Buckeyes entered halftime up 3-0 before TreVeyon Henderson produced a 61-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter.

Notre Dame responded with two straight touchdowns and stuffed Ohio State on a 4th-and-1 inside the red zone with 4:12 minutes remaining. However, the Buckeyes got the ball back with 1:26 on the clock.

After getting thwarted on two pass attempts at the 1, Chip Trayanum punched in the go-ahead touchdown. Ryan Day called his players “warriors” in a fiery post-game TV interview in which he called out former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz for questioning Ohio State’s physicality.

“This is a tough team right here,” Day declared. “We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world, and it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world. I love those kids, and we got a tough team.”

Ohio State has an early off week to recover from the taxing win, and Notre Dame will play Duke on ABC this Saturday night. NBC probably won’t draw as many viewers for the weekend’s Big Ten bout between Michigan State and Iowa.