College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 4

College football’s TV ratings surge continued in Week 4, with ABC once again emerging as a big winner. The network maintained its strong presence in the Top 10 most-watched games of the week.

Miami’s win over Florida led the charge in primetime while the Oklahoma vs. Auburn thriller anchored the afternoon window of games. With conference play on the horizon for most power conferences, viewership numbers are on a strong trajectory entering the final week of September.

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On3 compiled data from press releases, Sports Media Watch and Sports Business Journal to break down the week’s college football TV ratings. Here are the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 3.

Note: SEC Network, ACC Network, CBS Sports Network and Peacock do not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership. Other figures will be added as necessary.

Florida at Miami

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.5 million

The most-watched game of Week 4 was in Coral Gables for an in-state showdown. Florida kept things close against Miami early in the second half, but the Hurricanes got two fourth-quarter touchdowns to create separation and seal the 26-7 victory over the Gators at Hard Rock Stadium.

Auburn at Oklahoma

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.1 million

Jackson Arnold’s return to Norman drew plenty of attention heading into Week 4, and the game lived up to the billing. However, John Mateer and Oklahoma got the better of Auburn to get the home victory – though the Heisman Trophy frontrunner played through an injury which will now require surgery.

Michigan at Nebraska

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 5.3 million

CBS’ most-watched game saw two of the Big Ten’s up-and-coming quarterbacks go against each other. Ultimately, Bryce Underwood and Michigan took down Dylan Raiola and Nebraska in a close one as both players showed their potential.

Texas Tech at Utah

Date/Time: Sept. 20, Noon ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 4.0 million

FOX’s Big Noon Saturday took on Salt Lake City for an intriguing Big 12 showdown between Texas Tech and Utah. The Red Raiders rose to the occasion, though, making quite a statement in the 34-10 victory over the Utes.

Syracuse at Clemson

Date/Time: Sept. 20, Noon ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 3.4 million*

Weather impacted Saturday’s Syracuse at Clemson game, but there were flashes of lightning early as the Orange laid the groundwork for an upset. A surprise onside kick helped Fran Brown’s group take momentum to eventually come away with a victory, but quarterback Steve Angeli suffered a significant injury in the effort.

*viewership number prior to weather delay and move to ESPN2.

Purdue at Notre Dame

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Viewers: 3.1 million*

Purdue brought some early fireworks against Notre Dame with some trick plays – including a fake punt – but the Fighting Irish offense broke out to get the 56-30 victory in South Bend. Weather impacted things late in the first half, and NBC brought in 3.1 million viewers on average prior to the interruption, per SBJ.

*viewership number prior to weather delay and move to Peacock.

Iowa at Rutgers

Date/Time: Sept. 19, 8 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 3.0 million

A Friday night showdown turned into a TV ratings win for FOX in Week 4 of the college football season. Iowa took down Rutgers in a back-and-forth affair in Piscataway, which came in front of more than 3 million viewers in the primetime affair.

Illinois at Indiana

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Viewers: 2.5 million

A lengthy weather delay meant NBC aired Purdue at Notre Dame before switching to Illinois at Indiana. The transition took place amid a Fighting Irish blowout, and the Hoosiers also put on a clinic against the Fighting Illini to make a statement in the 63-10 victory.

Arkansas at Memphis

Date/Time: Sept. 20, Noon ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 2.1 million

In an intriguing non-conference matchup, Memphis used a late rally to stun Arkansas, 32-31, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in the Noon ET window. The matchup cracked the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 4 as the Tigers stayed undefeated on the year.

Michigan State at USC

Date/Time: Sept. 20, 11 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 2.1 million

Michigan State fans found themselves staying up late on Saturday as the Spartans took on USC for an 11 p.m. ET kickoff from the Coliseum. The Trojans came away with the 45-31 win, but the matchup drew 2.1 million – more than the primetime game between Arizona State and Baylor on the network.

Just outside the Top 10, South Carolina and Missouri averaged 1.9 million viewers on ESPN and the Apple Cup rivalry between Washington and Washington State averaged 1.7 million viewers on CBS. Additionally, the Friday night game between Tulsa and Oklahoma State brought in 1.6 million viewers on ESPN in what turned out to be Mike Gundy’s final game as Cowboys’ head coach.