Last Saturday, the NFL and college football games aired at the same time, with the NFL winning the ratings war over the College Football Playoff debut. Despite the new 12-team format, the games did not garner as many viewers as the NFL did. SMU and Penn State aired at 12 p.m. ET, averaging 6.4 million viewers on the TNT networks, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans game at 1 p.m. ET averaged 15.5 million viewers on NBC. Clemson-Texas clashed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens game later in the afternoon, drawing 8.6 million viewers on TNT compared to 15.4 million on FOX for the NFL matchup.
When the NFL wasn’t competing with the College Football Playoffs, the ratings for the other two games were much higher. Indiana-Notre Dame, the first game of the new 12-team format, averaged 13.4 million viewers on ABC/ESPN on Friday night. Tennessee and Ohio State, the lone Saturday game not competing with the NFL, brought in 14.3 million viewers on ABC/ESPN. The overall average of 10.6 million viewers for the first round of the College Football Playoffs was higher than all but four college games this season.
College football and the NFL will clash again on Saturday, with the NFL having three games throughout the day against a slate of bowl games. The Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots play at 1 p.m. ET, the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals play at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams play at 8:10 p.m. ET. Notable bowl games on Saturday include No. 18 ranked Iowa State playing No. 13 ranked Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET, and No. 23 ranked Colorado playing No. 17 ranked BYU in the Alamo Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET, featuring top draft prospects Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.
Despite the clash between the NFL and college football on Saturday, the NFL won the ratings war, with games like Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens drawing significantly more viewers than the College Football Playoffs. While the College Football Playoffs did not perform as well in terms of viewership, games like Indiana-Notre Dame and Tennessee-Ohio State still managed to attract a substantial number of viewers, showcasing the continued popularity of college football.
It will be interesting to see how future matchups between college football games and the NFL will unfold, as both attract their own dedicated fan bases. With the NFL having another slate of games against bowl games on Saturday, fans will have plenty of options to choose from, including matchups like Los Angeles Chargers vs. New England Patriots, Denver Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bengals, and Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams. Additionally, top-ranked teams like Iowa State, Miami, Colorado, and BYU will face off in highly anticipated bowl games featuring potential future NFL stars.
As the NFL continues to dominate in terms of viewership, college football remains a popular and competitive alternative, with the College Football Playoffs providing exciting matchups for fans to enjoy. The clash between the two leagues on Saturday showcased the ongoing rivalry between college football and the NFL, with both leagues offering unique and compelling games for viewers to watch. With the popularity of both leagues showing no signs of slowing down, fans can look forward to more exciting matchups and games in the future.
