College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 9

Another huge week of college football resulted in big TV ratings for ABC. The network once again led the charge in Week 9.

ABC’s tripleheader took the top three spots from Saturday’s slate, led by Alabama’s thrilling victory over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium. The matchup peaked at 10.3 million viewers as it became the most-watched game of the day. All told, ESPN and ABC had four of the top five games.

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On3 obtained Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings data for the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 9. Here is the full breakdown of the week’s college football TV ratings.

Note: SEC Network, ACC Network and CBS Sports Network do not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership.

Alabama at South Carolina

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 7.8 million

Alabama found itself on Upset Watch in the second half against South Carolina, but the Crimson Tide mounted a late charge and capitalized on a LaNorris Sellers fumble to pick up a seventh straight victory. It also helped ABC lead Week 9 with an average of 7.8 million viewers in the late-afternoon window.

Texas A&M at LSU

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.8 million

A primetime matchup filled with storylines delivered as Texas A&M got a resounding victory over LSU in what turned out to be Brian Kelly’s final game as the Tigers’ head coach. The game was the most-watched in primetime as an average of 6.8 million people tuned to ABC.

Ole Miss at Oklahoma

Date/Time: Oct. 25, Noon ET
Channel: ABC
Viewers: 6.6 million

Billed as a potential College Football Playoff eliminator, ABC’s first game was one of the biggest on the slate. Ole Miss eventually took down Oklahoma in the matchup, giving the Rebels a crucial road victory.

Michigan at Michigan State

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Viewers: 3.6 million

The Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy returned to East Lansing as Michigan renewed its rivalry with Michigan State. The Wolverines’ 31-20 victory over the Spartans got the primetime treatment on NBC, averaging 3.6 million viewers.

Missouri at Vanderbilt

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 3.1 million

ESPN’s College GameDay was in attendance for another important SEC matchup between Missouri and Vanderbilt. The Tigers and Commodores kept it close, but true freshman Matt Zollers’ potential game-tying Hail Mary fell short of the end zone, sealing a 17-10 Vanderbilt victory.

UCLA at Indiana

Date/Time: Oct. 25, Noon ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 3.0 million

A surging UCLA team made Week 9’s matchup at Indiana even more intriguing, and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Bloomington for it. The Hoosiers continued their dominant run, though, cruising past the Bruins 56-6 at Memorial Stadium in FOX’s top game of Week 9.

BYU at Iowa State

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Viewers: 2.7 million

Immediately following UCLA at Indiana, BYU took on Iowa State as the Cougars looked to stay undefeated. They did just that as they took down the Cyclones, 41-27, in Ames.

Minnesota at Iowa

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 1.6 million

Iowa didn’t leave any room for doubt in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy against Minnesota. The Hawkeyes immediately took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, blowing out the Golden Gophers 41-3 in the rivalry game. That led to a dip in viewership on CBS, which averaged 1.6 million viewers.

Utah at Colorado

Date/Time: Oct. 25, 10 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 1.29 million

Colorado looked to build on a win over Iowa State in Week 8, but struggled mightily against a red-hot Utah team. The Utes dominated en route to the 53-7 victory, improving to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play in front of 1.29 million people in ESPN’s late slot.

Syracuse at Georgia Tech

Date/Time: Oct. 25, Noon ET
Channel: ESPN
Viewers: 1.27 million

Rounding out the Top 10 most-watched games of Week 9, Georgia Tech stayed undefeated with a resounding victory over Syracuse. Haynes King had five total touchdowns on the day – three passing and two rushing – to lead the charge and keep the Yellow Jackets atop the ACC standings.

ABC remains the biggest TV ratings winner of the 2025 college football season as it once again held the top three games of Week 9. As November quickly approaches, the magnitude of the games will get even bigger with conference championship races heating up.