USC Trojans Game vs. Illinois Delivered Massive National Audience

After the USC-Michigan State game drew a top 10 television audience, Saturday's matchup against the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini received similar success. As FOX's Big Noon Kickoff game for week 5, USC vs. Illinois finished No. 7 in television viewership, drawing 4.1 million viewers.

It was also the most-watched game of FOX's week 5 college football slate. Fans who tuned in for the game saw an exciting finish, as Illinois defeated USC 34-32 on a walk-off 41-yard field goal by David Alano to give the Trojans their first loss of the season.

The Two Big Ten Games In Week 5 That Had Higher Ratings Than USC-Illinois

Two other Big Ten games in week 5 had huge success in television viewership. CBS's 3:30 game featuring the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the Washington Huskies in Seattle had the fourth-largest television audience, drawing 5.2 million viewers.

For NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night game, 8.8 million television viewers tuned in to watch the No. 2 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions 30-24 in an overtime thriller in front of a whiteout at Beaver Stadium.

The matchup between the Ducks and Nittany Lions was the second-most-watched college game of the weekend, behind Alabama and Georgia.

College Football's Week 5 Slate Overall Sucsess in Television Viewership

College Football's week 5 slate overall saw huge success. Saturday's slate tied with week 1 for the most games that had 4 million viewers or more. Other games with high ratings included ABC's 3:30 game featuring the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels beating the No. 13 LSU Tigers 24-19, which drew 6.7 million viewers.

4.4 million viewers tuned in for No. 24 Virginia's epic overtime 46-38 upset win over No. 18 Florida State on Friday night. Millions watched until the very end to witness arguably one of the best field storms of the season, the moment Virginia secured the upset win.

No. 21 Notre Dame's 56-13 win over Arkansas drew 4.3 million television viewers as the sixth most-watched college football game of week 5, just ahead of USC-Illinois.

USC-Michigan Likely to Draw Large Television Audience

USC's Oct. 11 matchup against the No. 20-ranked Michigan Wolverines is also likely to draw another large television audience similar to one that tuned in for the Trojans' loss to Illinois on Saturday. The game is set to NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night matchup for week 7.

NBC has seen success in television viewership for their Big Ten Saturday Night games and will likely see similar high ratings for this matchup, as USC will face Michigan in front of a sold-out Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

USC is looking to improve to 5-1 on the season and is hoping the bye week will help them bounce back from the heartbreaking loss to Illinois.