Ohio State's win against Rutgers reportedly draws massive 'Big Noon Kickoff' ratings

The Ohio State Buckeyes continue to dominate Fox's marquee noon ET window, and the Week 13 ratings are now official.

According to On3, the Buckeyes' 42-9 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights was the second most-watched Big Ten game of the week and only trailed the Oregon Ducks' 42-27 win against the USC Trojans in Eugene. That game aired in the 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT window on CBS, which had major College Football Playoff implications for both sides, drawing a 5.43 million rating, compared to the Buckeyes-Scarlet Knights, which clocked in at 4.1 million.

Ultimately, this rating makes sense as the only other games outdrawing the Buckeyes-Scarlet Knights matchup were from the SEC (Texas vs. Arkansas with 5.6 million on ABC, Oklahoma vs. Missouri at 5.37 million on ABC and a nightcap game featuring Tennessee vs. Florida, also on ABC, at 4.8 million).

Either way it's sliced or diced, people care tremendously about college football on broadcast television. The Ohio State Buckeyes are no exception. The more the Buckeyes are shown on TV, especially to the masses, it's better for everyone.

Just ask AD Ross Bjork.

"We have carried the day for Big Noon," Bjork said via Dillon Davis in June. "There's no question about it. You look at the viewership. So, we understand why Fox went with Big Noon. We understand why we're picked all the time. But we're hoping for just more flexibility. That's what we're looking for."

Ross Bjork on the Texas game being at noon, the lack of night games for Ohio State, and the the lack of flexibility that exists for any real changes to any of that, any time soon.

“We have carried the day for Big Noon. There is no question about it,” he said. pic.twitter.com/PhFtVlivKL
— Dillon Davis (@DillonDavis56) June 12, 2025

Bjork said that while he likes the arrangement that the school, the conference and Fox has as a network, he wants to expand his team's reach a little bit more than it already is

"And so, I think Commissioner Petitti is going to work with our TV partners. We're going to continue to have those conversations, but can anything change anytime soon? Probably not. Because those contracts are rigid and they're locked in for several years."

At least for now, don't expect to see "The Game" move out of its original slot anytime soon as long as Fox has the rights to it. In fact, it's such a marquee game that most of the other major college football games taking place that day are in later slots, likely to accommodate people who want to watch this game in full without any additional interruptions.

For now, "The Game" will go on without issue this Saturday, and it's almost a guarantee the ratings will reflect the same.