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Notre Dame and Wisconsin draw highest television ratings in college football week one

Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Sep 10, 2026, 7:37 PM

Last updated Sep 10, 2026

Notre Dame and Wisconsin draw highest television ratings in college football week one

Summary

Nielsen data confirms the Notre Dame and Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field as the most-watched contest of the opening week of the 2026 college football season, drawing 7.4 million viewers. The Fighting Irish secured a 41-13 victory over the Badgers during the Sunday night primetime window. Other highly viewed games included the matchup between Clemson and LSU, which attracted 5.8 million viewers despite weather delays in Baton Rouge. Washington State and Washington followed with 5.1 million viewers for the Apple Cup, while Oregon's win over Boise State on CBS reached 4.8 million. Ratings measurements for these figures exclude data from the SEC Network, ACC Network, and CBS Sports Network.

Source Links

Yahoo Sports

Status Watch

•Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13 in the most-watched game of the week.
•Clemson versus LSU drew 5.8 million viewers following a weather-related kickoff delay.
•The Apple Cup between Washington State and Washington reached 5.1 million viewers.
•Oregon avoided an upset against Boise State in a game that drew 4.8 million viewers.
•Ole Miss recorded a walk-off victory against Louisville in front of 4.7 million viewers.

Latest Updates

7:37 PMYahoo Sports — College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 1

What they're saying

"
College football made its full return in Week 1, and the TV ratings have been released. A full slate of action ran from Thursday night through Monday night after Week 0 served as the appetizer ahead of the 2026 season. The most-anticipated game of the week was in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, though the […]
— Yahoo Sports

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