Texas-Ohio State sets records for Week 1 viewership

Field Level Media|published: Thu 4th September, 10:47 2025

Ohio State Buckeyes safety Jaylen McClain (18) tries to tackle Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) in the fourth quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Aug 30, 2025.

The season-opening clash between Ohio State and Texas attracted 16.62 million viewers, the most ever to watch a Week 1 college football game, Fox Sports reported.

Ohio State, then ranked No. 3, defeated then-top-ranked Texas 14-7 in the debut of Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning as the team's full-time starter.

Fox said the game peaked at 18.6 million viewers from 3-3:15 p.m. ET, adding it was the third most-watched college game ever in the regular season on Fox.

Ratings Always Rise at NOON ??

FOX's BIG NOON SATURDAY scored 16,623,000 viewers for Ohio State's win over Texas ??

- Most-watched Week 1 CFB game on any net in history
- Third most-watched regular season CFB game ever on FOX
- Peaked at 18,569,000 viewers from 3-3:15 PM ET pic.twitter.com/P1Eg3FnjxB
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) September 3, 2025

Even the pregame shows were a hit among viewers.

Fox reported that its "Big Noon Kickoff" drew 3.8 million people beginning at 11 a.m. ET, making it the most-watched edition of the show when Ohio State and Michigan weren't following it.

ESPN said earlier this week that its "College GameDay" show, which featured the final appearance of the retiring analyst Lee Corso. ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers during the show on Saturday, preliminary Nielsen ratings show. It was broadcast from Columbus, Ohio.

The ratings for the final 15 minutes of the show reached a record 5.1 million viewers, per ESPN. That's the section of the show during which Corso famously made his prediction -- who would win the game to be played in the city from which "College GameDay" was airing -- by putting on headgear representing his predicted victor. On Saturday, he correctly chose the Buckeyes.

--Field Level Media