USC Trojans' Surprising Ranking in Most-Watched College Football Games of 2025

Despite having large television viewership in their matchups against Michigan State and Illinois, neither of those games for USC cracked the top 10 of the most-watched of the 2025 season through six weeks.

USC's most-viewed game of the season was their first loss of the season against the No. 17 Illinois Fighting Illini on the road in week 5. This was the last game that USC played as they were on a bye week after the loss to Illinois.

4.1 million viewers tuned into FOX's Big Noon Kickoff game to watch USC lose 34-32 to Illinois on a walk-off game-winning field goal by David Alano.

USC's 45-31 win against Michigan State on Sept. 20 drew 2.1 million viewers, despite an 11 p.m. kickoff for MSU fans.

Big Ten Games Drawing Eyes

Other than Ohio State's win over Texas to kick off the 2025 season, two other Big Ten games cracked the top 10 for the most-viewed college football games through six weeks.

The week 2 matchup between No. 15 Michigan and No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman drew 9.7 million viewers on ABC. It was the most-watched game of week 2 as Oklahoma beat Michigan 24-13. Since that matchup, Oklahoma remains undefeated on the season at 5-0, and Michigan has pulled off three straight wins.

Michigan will take its three-game winning streak into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday against USC. The week 2 matchup between the Sooners and Wolverines was the seventh most-watched game of the season.

Just behind Michigan's matchup against Oklahoma was the No. 3 Oregon Ducks' 30-24 overtime thriller win against the Penn State Nittany Lions in a whiteout at Beaver Stadium. 8.5 million viewers tuned in to watch NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night game between Oregon and Penn State.

Will USC's Matchup Against Michigan on Saturday Crack the Top 10?

USC's matchup against Michigan on Saturday night is likely to draw a large television audience. There is much on the line for both teams entering Saturday's game, with the winner improving their chances of earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.

With the game already being sold out at the Coliseum, could Saturday's matchup crack the top 10 of most-viewed games of the season? While the game will be one of the most-watched games of week 7, it falls short of the top 10 for the season, given the other ranked matchups on Saturday.