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Ratings show everyone was tuned in for Michigan-Notre Dame Saturday night
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The first week of the college football season blessed us with several intriguing matchups. Conference clashes, top 25 showdowns and everything in between lit up our television screens all day Saturday.
But the one game everyone was watching Saturday night? That would’ve been the rivalry showdown between No. 14 Michigan and No. 12 Notre Dame.
According to Matt Smith of Southern Pigskin, the renewed rivalry game between the Wolverines and the Irish drew a 4.51 TV rating, a 60% increase from Georgia-Notre Dame a season ago.
That’s a lot of eyeballs.
Michigan-Notre Dame drew a 4.51 TV rating, up 60% from Georgia-Notre Dame last year, which was up against Oklahoma-Ohio State, Auburn-Clemson, and Stanford-USC. Not much competition last night.
— Matt Smith (@MattSmithCFB) September 2, 2018
Plenty of factors played into the large viewership on Saturday night. This was the first time the two teams had played since 2014, both entered the contest ranked in the top 15, and there weren’t many great matchups scheduled for primetime.
The main competitor was No. 1 Alabama vs. Louisville, a game the Tide won 51-14.
Notre Dame escaped Week 1 with a 24-17 win over Michigan.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB