College Football TV Ratings: Tracking the Top 10 most-watched teams of the 2026 season

After seeing a 9% increase in minutes viewed in 2025, college football is looking to see TV ratings continue their upward trajectory in 2026. Nielsen has also unveiled its official list of most-watched teams. Nielsen ranked the Top 10 teams based on average viewership this year. ABC, CBS, The CW, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, NBC, TNT and USA Network are the networks included in the data set. Big Ten Network is not included, nor are partial and regionalized telecasts. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage On3 continues to track college football TV ratings throughout the 2026 season, including the most-watched games of the year. Here are the most-watched teams through Week 8, based on average viewership, according to data provided by Nielsen. Note: SEC Network, ACC Network and CBS Sports Network do not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership. 1. Texas: 8.344 million Fueled by the viewership for the victory over Ohio State, Texas sits at No. 1 in most-watched college football teams list of the year through Week 8, based on average Nielsen TV ratings data. The Longhorns have played in three of the Top 10 most-watched games of the season, all of which were on ABC. Watch on Fubo (Try for Free) Texas’ loss to Oklahoma also became one of the five most-watched games of the season as the Red River Rivalry delivered for ABC. As a result, the Longhorns’ average viewership sits clearly at the top of the most-watched teams list. 2. Ohio State: 7.460 million Through Week 8, Ohio State played in the most-watched game of the season. The Buckeyes’ loss to Texas brought nearly 14 million viewers in Week 2, and they are still squarely one of Nielsen’s most-watched teams in the country. In fact, Ohio State has played in two of the top five games of the season entering Week 8. The Buckeyes’ thrilling road win over Indiana was the top draw of Week 7 with 10.38 million viewers on FOX in the Big Noon Saturday time slot. 3. Oklahoma: 6.274 million Oklahoma is squarely among the Top 10 most-watched teams in college football and has played in four full games included in the measurement. That includes the Red River Rivalry, which became one of the most-watched games of the season through Week 8. SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter OU’s win over Texas averaged 9.8 million viewers on ABC and helped propel the Sooners back into the Top 10. Their game against Michigan in Week 2 is also one of the most-watched of the season with 8.2 million viewers on FOX. 5. Indiana: 6.226 million Indiana’s Top-5 showdown against Ohio State became one of the most-watched college football games of the year through Week 8. The Hoosiers came up just short against the Buckeyes, but jumped into the Top 10 most-watched teams list, per data provided by Nielsen. That Week 7 game averaged 10.38 million viewers on FOX and came one week after IU’s win over Nebraska averaged 6.73 million on the network. All told, the Hoosiers have played in four games on FOX this season. 5. Alabama: 6.198 million Alabama played in one of the most-watched college football games of the year in Week 6, according to Nielsen TV ratings data. The Crimson Tide’s loss to Georgia averaged 12.2 million viewers, and they also sit at No. 5 in the Top 10 most-watched teams heading into Week 8. In Week 7, Alabama again played in one of the most-watched games of the season. The rivalry matchup against Tennessee averaged 8.1 million viewers on ABC to draw Top-10 viewership on the year, according to data compiled by On3. 6. Ole Miss: 5.704 million One of the most anticipated games of the year delivered as the most-watched game of the season through Week 8. Ole Miss took down LSU in Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford in front of nearly 11 million viewers on ABC. Ole Miss’ loss to Florida also brought huge viewership with 8.29 million viewers on average in Week 4. That helped put the Rebels at No. 6 in Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched college football teams heading into Week 9. 7. Georgia: 5.620 million The victory over Alabama drew 12.2 million viewers on ABC, sitting only behind Ohio State vs. Texas as the most-watched game of the season. UGA also moved up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 after that win, coupled with the Longhorns’ loss to Oklahoma, before falling to Auburn a week later. After the win over Alabama became the second most-watched game of the season through Week 8, Georgia is now up to No. 7 in Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched teams in college football, according to Nielsen TV ratings data. The Bulldogs have played in three games included in the methodology. 8. Michigan: 5.402 million Led by the victory over Oklahoma in Week 2, Michigan remains in Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched teams ranking of the season. The Wolverines have played in four games on networks that are in the data set, including the Week 4 loss to Iowa, which brought 4.46 million viewers on CBS. The Week 2 win over Oklahoma was the second-highest viewership of Week 2 and is one of four Michigan games to average at least 4 million viewers through Week 8. That helped put the Wolverines in the Top 10 most-watched teams of the year. 9. Tennessee: 5.149 million Propelled by the Third Saturday in October win over Alabama, Tennessee remains one of Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched teams list after Week 8. The Vols have played in two games with more than 8 million viewers on average and sit at No. 9 heading into Week 9. Tennessee’s loss to Texas is among the biggest draws of the season with 9.75 million viewers in Week 4. That win over Alabama also performed well with 8.1 million people tuning in on average for the Week 7 matchup. 10. LSU: 4.995 million The Lane Kiffin Era has brought a spotlight to LSU to start the 2026 season. The Tigers’ Week 3 game against Ole Miss became the most-watched game of the year to date, and they are still part of Nielsen’s latest most-watched teams list. LSU continues to be one of the biggest stories in college football during Kiffin’s debut season in Baton Rouge. Through Week 8, the Tigers also remain one of the top TV ratings draws in the sport as October continues to roll along. On3 will continue to update the most-watched teams in college football throughout the 2026 season, according to TV ratings data provided weekly by Nielsen. The data will continue throughout the regular season.