In week 1, the Ohio State-Texas showdown was known as one of the biggest ever to begin a season. The No. 1 Longhorns visited the defending champions, the No. 3 Ohio State, who looked for a huge statement in the week.
Big Viewership for Ohio State-Texas to Start the Season
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Huge Matchup Most Watched Ever in Week 1
As Arch Manning started his first season with the Longhorns against the defending champs Ohio State, this opening weekend matchup ended up being a massive one. On Big Noon Saturday, FOX managed to 16.6 Million Viewers and topped out at 18.57 million just at the end of the game. The FOX Sports executive projected that Fox’s total audience networks would surpass 20 billion minutes. Last season, it was 13.5 Billion Minutes, showing the massive increase possibly from this matchup alone.
There was massive national appeal to the game, which featured world-famous Manning and the popular Longhorns take on the equally popular Buckeyes, who themselves debuted Julian Sayin, a five-star recruit and great in his own right. Overall, there wasn’t much offense in the game, but the end of the match definitely didn’t disappoint with Texas finally coming alive and ultimately falling short of knocking off the Buckeyes in Week 1.
College Football Becoming More Popular in New Era?
In this new CFP era, and of course with factors like the transfer portal and 12-team playoff, did the NCAA actually make the sport more appealing? Perhaps… Unlike old college football, other teams have chances at having magical seasons with the growing playoff and transfer portal. Two teams that embodied that last season were the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Indiana Hoosiers.
Both teams are usually afterthoughts compared to other teams. However, both teams triumphantly made it to the playoffs, giving themselves a chance at glory. Other teams that might not even be in the Power 4 conferences may have chances to enter the playoffs and have a shot at glory. For many, this new era isn’t healthy for the sport. Not a lot of people may not like how really good teams lose players to the portal so quickly.
However, at the end of the day, perhaps this new era of CFB is actually helping the sport expand. Not to mention, as more teams like Delaware and Kennesaw State are entering the FBS, the sport is becoming very interesting.
Who is the Best Team In the Country Following Week 1
The question remains, which team is on top of the world after week 1? There are a few candidates: first, Ohio State winning it all last season definitely helps their case as they seek a good year also in 2025, and of course defeating Texas. Penn State is a hazardous team on both sides of the ball and continues to look like a potential No. 1 team. LSU is a hazardous team that achieved a massive win over No. 4 Clemson on Saturday on the road. Of course, no one can forget about Georgia or Miami, with both teams having high hopes, especially Georgia, which has won twice in recent seasons.
Not to mention, Oregon has been seeking to become an elite team after years of competing in the BIG Ten and the PAC-12. Overall, it is very nice to see CFB do well. This new era definitely has the ability to be hectic with the portal and the NIL deals. However, with Week 1 being as good as it was, perhaps much of that worry disappears.
With more opportunities now, which teams will grind their way into the playoffs and get a shot at glory? No one knows, which I suppose is what makes college football fun. Really Fun.
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