Which College Football Game Drew the Biggest Audience This Weekend

The 2025 college football season opened with a bang, as ABC and ESPN set new viewership records across multiple platforms, highlighting the growing appetite for marquee matchups and primetime Saturday action.

Alabama vs. Florida State Leads Week 1

ABC led the way with its strongest Kickoff Weekend on record, averaging 8.6 million viewers across four games and drawing more than 10 million viewers for three contests — a first for ESPN networks in a single weekend.

Saturday’s mid-afternoon showdown between Alabama and Florida State drew 10.7 million viewers, peaking at 12.9 million, marking the most-watched Week 1 mid-afternoon game ever.

Later, ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One, featuring LSU and Clemson, pulled 10.4 million viewers and peaked at 11.3 million.

Notre Dame vs. Miami Shines on Sunday

Notre Dame vs. Miami on Sunday attracted 10.8 million viewers, ABC’s second-best Sunday opener ever, peaking at 11.8 million.

The season opener also marked a historic moment for ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot. The program averaged 4.0 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the show’s history.

Lee Corso’s final headgear pick drew a peak audience of 5.7 million viewers during the last 15 minutes of the broadcast — the largest quarter-hour audience ever for the Saturday morning program.