No. 1 Ohio State's 42–24 dismantling of Virginia Tech on Labor Day set an ESPN/ABC record for the most-watched opening weekend college football game ever on the family of networks with 10,585,000 viewers tuning in.
The number easily topped the 9,888,000 viewers who tuned in for the Virginia Tech–Boise State game on Labor Day 2010.
| Rank | Viewership | Date | Network | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10,585,000 | Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 | ESPN | No. 1 OHIO STATE at VIRGINIA TECH |
| 2 | 9,888,000 | Monday, Sept. 6, 2010 | ESPN | No. 3 BOISE STATE vs. No. 10 VIRGINIA TECH |
| 3 | 9,648,000 | Monday, Sept. 5, 2005 | ABC | No. 9 MIAMI at No. 14 FLORIDA STATE |
| 4 | 9,142,000 | Monday, Aug. 31, 1998 | ABC | No. 14 TEXAS A&M vs. No. 2 FLORIDA STATE |
| 5 | 9,120,000 | Monday, Sept. 4, 2006 | ESPN | No. 11 FLORIDA STATE at No. 12 MIAMI |
Monday's game was the third most-viewed regular season college football game ever on ESPN. Additionally, Ohio State's win was the most-streamed regular-season college football game on WatchESPN of all time. Across all devices, the game had an average minute audience of 194,000 users and a total of 708,000 unique viewers online.
| Rank | Viewership | Date | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13,529,000 | Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 | No. 15 AUBURN at No. 1 ALABAMA |
| 2 | 10,586,000 | Saturday, Sept. 13, 2009 | No. 3 USC at No. 8 OHIO STATE |
| 3 | 10,585,000 | Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 | No. 1 OHIO STATE at VIRGINIA TECH |
