Michigan's Win Over OSU Without Jim Harbaugh Averages 19M Viewers; Most Since 2006

The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is arguably the greatest in college football, and Saturday's game between the two teams drew a monster audience.

According to Sports Media Watch, the game averaged 19.07 viewers on Fox, the highest for a game since a 2006 meeting between the Wolverines and Buckeyes when they were the top two teams in the nation.

Michigan's win over Ohio State was also the most-watched regular season college football game since LSU and Alabama squared off in 2011.

The Wolverines won the game 30-24 to extend their win streak in the rivalry to three straight games. Michigan managed to earn the victory despite being without its head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was serving the last of his three-game suspension.

Per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, Saturday's meeting between Michigan and Ohio State was the most-watched college football game of the 2023 season. It was also the fifth-most-watched sports broadcast of the holiday weekend behind the three NFL Thanksgiving Day games and Sunday's Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on CBS.

The Wolverines-Buckeyes matchup drew a 9.0 rating, the third-highest for a nationally broadcast game between the two teams behind their 2006 "Game of the Century" (13.0) and their 2016 meeting (9.4). Comparatively, the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn was the second-most-watched college football game of the weekend and only drew a 4.3 rating and 9.09 million viewers, the third-lowest for an Iron Bowl in the last 10 years.

Saturday's win moved Michigan up one spot to No. 2 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday, while Ohio State fell out of the top four. The Wolverines will be going for their third straight conference title when they meet the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday.