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Despite a 62-39 blowout by OSU in its matchup with Michigan last weekend, the TV ratings of The Game were through the roof.
It received a 7.5 rating and 13.2 million viewers, which was a huge improvement from last year's matchup in Ann Arbor that only featured a 6.1 grade and 10.5 million watchers.
This year's edition was also the highest rated and most viewed collegiate football game of the entire season, with the previous high being Alabama's blowout of LSU on Nov. 3, which drew a 6.6 rating and 11.5 million who tuned in to CBS.
In addition, the Michigan/Ohio State clash was also the most viewed college football regular-season game in the history of Fox Sports, with an additional 145,000 who tuned in on Fox Sports GO, bringing the total audience to 13.35 million.
To put in perspective just how big the audience was, consider this — The Game drew more eyeballs than both of last year's NCAA Tournament Final Four showdowns between Loyola-Chicago and Michigan, and Kansas and Villanova.
The Wolverines' Final Four victory over the Ramblers last April drew a 7.2 rating and 13.15 million watchers.
Though the viewing audience was incredibly strong for this 2018 showdown between the Wolverines and Buckeyes, it still didn't come close to matching the numbers that the 2016 affair between the two rivals posted — a 9.4 rating and 16.8 million viewers.
With that being said, though, this year's edition was the third most watched game between the hated enemies since 1997, trailing only the aforementioned 2016 clash and the 2006 contest (21 million viewers) that pitted the two against one another when they were ranked No. 1 (OSU) and No. 2 (U-M).
Ohio State will take on Northwestern tomorrow night in the Big Ten championship, while Michigan will learn its bowl fate on Sunday afternoon.
If the Buckeyes make it to the College Football Playoff, U-M will be heavily expected to wind up in the Rose Bowl. If OSU finds itself in the Rose Bowl, though, then the Wolverines are anticipated to end up in either the Peach or Fiesta Bowl.
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