As the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers squared off in a playoff-defining December game at Soldier Field on Saturday night, James Madison struggled to score as many points as possible after trailing 34-3 in the first half against the University of Oregon in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Bears completed an incredible comeback with a punt recovery and a searing 46-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore to end the game. Meanwhile, JMU made the 51-34 score look closer than it actually was.
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According to ESPN PR, JMU at the University of Oregon averaged only 4.4 million viewers per game, while Mississippi State’s 41-10 victory over Tulane earlier in the day averaged 6.2 million viewers.
The game comes as the Eagles take on the Commanders, which kicks off the NFL’s Saturday doubleheader against Fox. Ratings for the two games that overlapped with the Five and the NFL were significantly lower than the other two games in the CFP first round.
Of course, these games all featured big-time showdowns that proved to be far more competitive. But they also didn’t violate the NFL’s schedule.
The Alabama-Oklahoma Crimson Tide game, which rallied from a 17-point deficit, averaged 14.9 million viewers, while Miami-Texas A&M, a defensive showdown in blustery College Station, averaged 14.8 million viewers, according to ESPN PR.
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Both games were tied at 1 in the fourth quarter. Alabama won 34-24 to complete the comeback. Miami stormed down the field at the goal line and threw an interception in the end zone to seal the 10-3 victory.
The Alabama-Oklahoma game airs on ABC, kicking off Friday at 8 p.m. According to ESPN PR, this was the most-watched CFP first-round game on record, but it’s worth noting that this is only the second year of the 12-team postseason. Miami-Texas A&M will tip off Saturday at 12 p.m., live on ABC. According to ESPN, the show’s viewership peaked at 19.3 million.
Neither game conflicts with the NFL’s Saturday game schedule.
Ole Miss-Tulane and Oregon-JMU are both on TNT. ESPN and TNT Sports have entered into an agreement that allows TNT to sublicense certain CFP games from ESPN.
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TNT had two first-round CFP games last season and two more this year.
Teams in the Group of Five’s automatic bid were badly beaten by big power conference teams, raising more questions about the playoff format.
However, ratings will also be affected by the NFL’s takeover on Saturday.
