The crown jewel of a blockbuster, season-opening slate, Ohio State-Texas is now the most watched Week 1 college football game all-time, according to Fox Sports, which reported Wednesday that the blue blood showdown in Columbus scored 16,623,000 viewers, peaking at 18,569,000.
That peak reportedly took place between 3-3:15 p.m. while Texas attempted to mount a fourth-quarter comeback against the defending national champs with Arch Manning at the helm.
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Manning was uneven at best and underwhelming at worst Saturday, and Ohio State held on for a 14-7 victory, a reputation-restoring notch on the belt of new Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Fox Sports also reported that this iteration Ohio State-Texas — notably, a rematch of last season’s Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal — was the third-most watched regular season college football game in the network’s history.
Before it started, the matchup was highlighted by Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show. Outside the ‘Shoe, Big Noon Kickoff set up shop a bit more than an actual stone’s throw away from ESPN’s “College GameDay,” which set a viewership record of its own during Lee Corso’s final show.
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More than 5 million people tuned in for the final 15 minutes of GameDay, per ESPN, as Corso brought his headgear predictions full circle, putting on a Brutus the Buckeye mascot head just like he did the first time he started the tradition in 1996. Fox actually carried that moment on its broadcast, too.
Additionally, Fox Sports reporter Tom Rinaldi, who worked with Corso at ESPN, honored Corso with a heartfelt tribute video during Big Noon Kickoff.
Saturday’s showdown between Texas and Ohio State featured the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the preseason AP Top 25, respectively. It pitted the SEC against the Big Ten. It offered the Longhorns a chance to avenge their most recent playoff defeat. It gave the Buckeyes an opportunity to ditch any potential championship hangover narrative.
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And it delivered big numbers despite limited scoring.