College Football TV Ratings Remain Down 11% Through October

College football TV ratings remain down double digits through the first two months of the 2026 season.

With October in the books and November postseason pushes on the way, FBS game broadcasts are averaging 1.6 million viewers across all Nielsen-rated networks, which is down 11% compared to the first nine weeks of the 2025 season, according to audience measurement data Nielsen provided to Front Office Sports. Those metrics come from 402 eligible games this season, compared with 410 in the same time period in 2025.

Viewership across all networks was also down 11% through September (Weeks 0-4), with games averaging 1.7 million viewers. 

While average game viewership remains down compared to last season, the total minutes viewed across all networks is up 2% over 2025 through nine weeks, according to Fox Sports executive Michael Mulvihill.

Texas–Ohio State in Week 2 is still the most-watched game of the season so far, drawing 14 million viewers on ABC. Four games total have drawn an audience of 10 million or higher—two coming in October,  Georgia-Alabama (12.2 million on ABC) and Ohio State–Indiana (10.4 million on Fox). In 2025, 11 regular-season games topped 10 million viewers.

Here are the 10 most-watched games of the 2026 season through October:

• Ohio State–Texas: 14 million (ABC)
• Georgia-Alabama: 12.2 million (ABC)
• LSU–Ole Miss: 10.9 million (ABC)
• Ohio State–Indiana: 10.4 million (Fox)
• Texas-Oklahoma: 9.8 million (ABC)
• Texas-Tennessee: 9.7 million (ABC)
• Notre Dame–BYU: 9.2 million (ABC)
• Ole Miss–Florida: 8.3 million (ABC)
• Oklahoma-Michigan: 8.2 million (Fox)
• Wisconsin–Notre Dame: 8.1 million (NBC)

The upcoming Week 10 CFB slate on Nov. 7 should elevate overall TV ratings, with seven Top 25 matchups on deck—after this season’s first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday. That will include a head-to-head primetime battle as NBC carries No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. ET—at the same time ABC broadcasts No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s College GameDay is pacing 4% above its record 2025 season average of 2.7 million viewers. The pre-game show has averaged just over 2.8 million viewers per episode through October.