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.
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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 6, 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.
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 6, based on average Nielsen TV ratings data. The Longhorns have played in two of the top three games of the season, both of which were on ABC.
Texas entered the 2026 season with high expectations and jumped up to the No. 1-ranked team in the country after the win over Ohio State. The Longhorns are also one of the most-watched teams in college football through the first quarter of the season.
Wisconsin’s Week 1 loss to Notre Dame was the most-watched game of Labor Day weekend. The matchup at Lambeau Field drew more than 7.4 million viewers on NBC, and that figure doesn’t include the 683,000 who watched on Peacock.
That’s still the only game the Badgers have played on the networks included in Nielsen’s most-watched college football teams methodology after Week 6. As a result, they are holding steady at No. 3 in the Top 10, which is based on average viewership.
Through the first four weeks, 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 through Week 6.
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Ohio State took an early lead against Texas and had a 20-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. However, the Longhorns mounted a furious charge to take down the Buckeyes in the most-watched game of the young 2026 season.
After the win over Alabama became the second most-watched game of the season through Week 6, Georgia is now up to No. 4 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.
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.
Oklahoma is back among the Top 10 most-watched teams in college football and has played in four games included in the measurement. That includes the Red River Rivalry, which became one of the most-watched games of the season through Week 6.
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.
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 that propelled them to the top spot in 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 6, the Tigers also remain one of the top TV ratings draws in the sport heading into the month of October.
Alabama played in one of the Top 10 most-watched games in college football during each of the first four weeks of the year, according to Nielsen TV ratings data. Based on the average viewership of those games, the Crimson Tide are up to No. 7 in the Top 10 most-watched teams after Week 6, and their average viewership includes the win over Mississippi State, which averaged 5.08 million viewers.
Alabama’s win over Kentucky was a top draw through Week 2 with 7.3 million viewers on ABC. From there, the Week 3 game against Florida State was one of a number of games impacted by weather, which impacted viewership.
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 5. That helped put the Wolverines squarely in the Top 10.
One of the most anticipated games of the year delivered as the most-watched game of the season through Week 5. 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. 9 in Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched teams entering a big Week 7 matchup against Missouri.
Florida’s huge Week 4 victory over Ole Miss is a reason Florida is among the most-watched team in college football, according to Nielsen’s TV ratings data. The program is now at No. 10 on the list heading into Week 7.
The Florida-Ole Miss game averaged 8.29 million viewers on ABC, which made it the fourth most-watched game of the season heading into Week 6. From there, the Week 5 loss to Missouri averaged 4.44 million viewers. The loss to South Carolina aired on SEC Network – which does not pay for Nielsen to measure viewership and, therefore, is not included in the methodology.
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.
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