Texas-Ohio State Leads Early 2026 College Football TV Ratings

The Longhorns' Week 2 comeback over the Buckeyes averaged nearly 14 million viewers on ABC, topping On3's tracker of the season's most-watched games through three weeks.

College football's television audience remains strong early in the 2026 season, with On3 compiling weekly viewership figures from Nielsen Big Data + Panel data. Texas' 24-23 comeback win over Ohio State on Sept. 12 stands as the biggest draw so far, averaging 13.99 million viewers on ABC. That figure trailed last year's meeting between the programs, which drew 16.6 million on FOX.

The Longhorns rallied from a 23-3 fourth-quarter deficit in Columbus, with Arch Manning throwing a touchdown in the final period and Hollywood Smothers running in two scores, including the winner. Ole Miss' victory over LSU the following week ranks second at 10.90 million viewers on ABC, a game notable for Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford as the opposing coach. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran in the deciding score with 6:14 left.

Michigan's 17-10 upset of Oklahoma on FOX's early window drew 8.22 million viewers, while Notre Dame's 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field brought 7.42 million on NBC, or 8.1 million when Peacock streaming data is included. Alabama appears twice in the top 10, with its 45-17 win at Kentucky drawing 7.28 million and a weather-delayed rematch against Florida State averaging 7.01 million on ABC before coverage shifted to ESPN2.

Other entries include LSU's season-opening win over Clemson at 5.76 million viewers, Kentucky's upset of Texas A&M at 5.36 million, and the Apple Cup between Washington State and Washington at 5.14 million on NBC. On3 notes that SEC Network, ACC Network and CBS Sports Network are not measured by Nielsen because those channels do not pay for viewership measurement.