College Football TV Ratings Week 3 – Schedule Week 4

Alabama continues to be the dominant program on the field as well as the nearest TV set. Meanwhile Texas proved again that the Longhorns are a strong draw if there is even a hint that they are relevant on the national scene. Here is a look at the numbers.

Thursday Sept. 15

2.16 million 6:30 pm Houston/Cincinnati ESPN

This is a good number for a Thursday game, and compares favorably with the Clemson/Louisville contest last year that drew 1.9 million. Proof positive that the Big 12 needs Houston and Cincinnati!

Friday Sept. 18

1.45 million 7:00 pm Baylor/Rice ESPN

720k 8:30 pm Arizona State/UTSA ESPN2

Last year Baylor/SMU drew 2 million a week earlier in the schedule.

Saturday Sept. 17

8.2 million 2:30 pm Mississippi/Alabama CBS

6.2 million 11:00 am Florida St/Louisville ABC

5.8 million 8:30 pm Ohio State/Oklahoma FOX

5.0 million 7:00 pm Michigan St/Notre Dame NBC

4,2 million 2:30 pm Oregon/Nebraska ABC

2.9 million 7:00 pm USC/Stanford ABC

The 2-hour lightning delay in Norman probably helped FOX in the ratings, as it was easier to switch between Michigan State-Notre Dame and the Ohio State-OU contests.

Saturday Sept. 17

2.45 million 9:30 pm Texas/California ESPN

Last season the Texas-Cal contest pulled 2.3 million in the FOX primetime slot. Three hours later on ESPN this year’s match is the most-watched college football game on cable for week 3.

2.1 million 7:00 pm Texas A&M/Auburn ESPN

Last year the ESPN slot was filled by Mississippi/Alabama and it had 7.6 million viewers. This time the A&M-Auburn game had competition from three quality matchups on the broadcast stations

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1.6 million 6:00 pm Mississippi St./LSU ESPN2

1.0 million 2:30 pm Pittsburgh/Oklahoma State ESPN

968k 11:00 am N. Dakota St./Iowa ESPN2

951k 2:30 pm Miami/Appalachian St ESPN

764k 9:45 pm BYU/UCLA ESPN2

543k 6:30 pm North Texas/Florida ESPNU

280k 11:00 am Iowa State/TCU FS1

214k 6:30 pm Boston College/Va. Tech ESPNU

145k 11:00 am Kansas/Memphis ESPNU

Here are a few games that Longhorn fans can watch while sitting and sulking on the couch.

Thursday September 22

#5 Clemson at Georgia Tech 6:30 PM ESPN

Dabo is 0-3 against Ga. Tech on the road.

Friday September 23

TCU at SMU 7:00 pm ESPN

TCU leads the series 48-40-7. Since the Mustangs got the death penalty, TCU is 20-6 in the series, having lost to the Ponies 15 years in a row from 1972-86.

USC at #24 Utah 8:00 pm FS1

The Trojans are a hot mess right now, but don’t worry, AD Lynn Swann is on the job.

Saturday September 24

#12 Georgia at #23 Ole Miss 11:00 am ESPN

If games were only 30 minutes long, Ole Miss would be 3-0 and Chad Kelley would be a Heisman candidate. If I could putt I would be a scratch golfer.

#11 Wisconsin at #8 Michigan State 11:00 am Big 10 Net

The Badgers upset of LSU makes this a very attractive game for the regional network.

#19 Florida at #14 Tennessee 2:30 pm CBS

The last time Tennessee beat Florida Phil Fulmer was their coach. Another Gator win and Butch Jones may give way to a 5^th coach trying to break that streak.

Penn State at #4 Michigan 2:30 pm ABC

The Fighting Harbaughs have Jabrill Peppers (aka Charles Woodson 2.0). He leads the nation in tackles for a loss and sealed the win over Colorado last week with a 54-yard punt return for a score.

BYU at West Virginia 2:30 pm ESPN2

Preview of the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game.

#18 LSU at Auburn 5:00 pm ESPN

This week’s edition of “Survivor-SEC Coaches Division” is again in Auburn. Neither Les Miles nor Gus Mahlzan have a QB they trust, but they do have fan bases trailing them with pitchforks and torches.

Oklahoma State at #16 Baylor 6:30 pm FOX

Baylor is a 9-point favorite and considering this is their first game against a team with a pulse that might be too much.

#7 Stanford at UCLA 7:00 pm ABC

The Cardinal has won 8 straight games against UCLA. Christian McCaffrey had 260 yards of total offense against USC last week, and this Saturday he gets to play in prime time to a much wider audience.

#17 Arkansas vs. #10 Texas A&M 8:00 pm ESPN

The last two seasons Arkansas has lost very winnable games against the Aggies in Jerry World and then recovered to have successful seasons. Both are 3-0 heading into this game, and the Ags are 6 point favorites to make it 5 in a row over the Hogs since moving to the SEC.

California at Arizona State 9:00 pm ESPN

Vegas sets the over/under at 145.5