The new-look College Football Playoff had an average of 16.9 million viewers tune into the quarterfinals on ESPN platforms, a 59 percent jump from the 10.6 million who watched the first-round games.
In its first year with a 12-team field, the CFP has generated plenty of buzz. The most-watched quarterfinal was the Rose Bowl, eighth-seeded Ohio State’s 41-21 drubbing of No. 1 seed Oregon, which averaged 21.1 million viewers.
Still, last year’s Rose Bowl — which was a semifinal game due to the four-team field under the CFP’s previous format — had a larger audience. An average of 27.2 million viewers watched Michigan, the No. 1 seed, edge Alabama, the No. 4 seed, 27-20 in overtime.
In this season’s Peach Bowl, fifth-seeded Texas outlasted fourth-seeded Arizona State for a 39-31 victory in double overtime while drawing an average of 17.3 million viewers. The Sugar Bowl brought in an average of 15.8 million viewers, even after it had to be postponed from Wednesday to Thursday because of a domestic terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame beat No. 2 seed Georgia 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl.
Sixth-seeded Penn State’s 31-14 win over No. 3 seed Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl was the least-watched quarterfinal, with an average of 13.8 million viewers.
–Field Level Media
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