College football powerhouse named 'most-watched' team through Week 12

While the Big Ten claimed the last two CFP championships, the SEC remains certainly the most-watched league in college football. While Alabama took a big loss on the field in Week 12, the Tide remain atop the list of most-watched college football programs, according to Nielsen data accumulated over the season.

The Tide Are No. 1

Alabama is averaging 8.14 million viewers per game on the season. The Tide have played five teams currently in the AP top 25 during their 8-2 season. Both that level of competition and Alabama's impressive eight-game winning streak after a Week 1 loss to Florida State have likely been responsible for the Tide's most-watched status. Quarterback Ty Simpson's impressive season hasn't hurt. 'Bama's Week 12 battle with Oklahoma drew over 10.4 million viewers, fifth highest of any game so far in 2025.

The SEC's dominance

The SEC not only has the most-watched team among its members, but the second through sixth most-watched teams are also all members of the SEC. Georgia is second at 7.35 million viewers per game. The Bulldogs' beating of Texas in Week 12 ranks seventh in the most watched games of the season with just over 10.4 million viewers, a few thousand behind Alabama's battle with Oklahoma.

The other SEC powers on the list are Tennessee (7.03 million), Texas (7.01 million), Oklahoma (6.64 million), and LSU (6.42 million). As noted above, Texas and Oklahoma were each involved in big Week 12 battles with massive audiences. The only other SEC team to make the top ten was Florida, who is in eighth with 5.16 million viewers per game, despite a 3-7 season.

Non-SEC Most Viewed Teams

The three non-SEC teams in the top ten are Ohio State, Florida State, and Notre Dame. Ohio State at seventh on the most-watched teams (5.49 million viewers) is the top non-SEC squad. OSU was part of a massive 16.6 million viewer Week One battle with Texas. That game drew four million more viewers than any other game this season. OSU's top other game was its November 1st battle with Penn State, with 7.2 million viewers.

Florida State is just 5-5, but is ninth on the most-watched list (4.92 million viewers on average). Their Week 1 battle with Alabama (10.7 million viewers) is the Seminoles' lone appearance on the 20 most-watched games.

Notre Dame has drawn just under 4.4 million viewers per game. Their matchup with Miami is the third most-watched game of the season, at 10.8 million viewers.

Ohio State and Julian Sayin are the most-watched non-SEC team in college football. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images