Ohio State and Michigan played a classic game Saturday in the 113th version of this storied college football rivalry.
Turns out, a lot of people watched it.
There was a record-setting crowd of 110,045 in attendance and according to ESPN PR, the Buckeyes' 30-27 double-overtime victory over the Wolverines scored a massive 10.4 overnight rating. That is the highest-rated regular game of the 2016 season and, according to ESPN's Josh Krulewitz, is the second-best regular season rating on record for ABC, trailing only the 2006 Ohio State–Michigan game. That contest earned an 11.5 overnight rating.
Enormous 10.4 overnight rating for @UMichFootball @OhioStateFB on abc. 2nd best reg season on record for ABC (trailing only 2006 game)
— Josh Krulewitz (@jksports) November 27, 2016
The overnight viewership was up 53 percent from last year's Ohio State–Michigan game, according to ESPN. The peak audience rated a 12.7 — between 3:30 and 4 p.m. — as the Buckeyes and Wolverines went into overtime.
Columbus had the highest-rated local market as The Game scored a 43.6 rating in the host city. It scored a 36.8 in Dayton, 30.8 in Detroit, 30.1 in Cleveland and a 20.5 in Cincinnati.
Prior to Saturday, the most-watched college football game of the regular season was Notre Dame–Texas way back on opening weekend. That game scored a 7.0 overnight rating.
ESPN's top-10 games of the regular season in terms of ratings can be seen below:
| Rank | Overnight | Game | Date | Network | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10.4 | Michigan at Ohio State | Sunday, Nov. 26 | ABC | Noon |
| 2 | 7.0 | Notre Dame at Texas | Sunday, Sept. 4 | ABC | 7:30 p.m. |
| 3 | 6.0 | Louisville at Clemson | Saturday, Oct. 1 | ABC | 8 p.m. |
| 6.0 | Alabama at LSU | Saturday, Nov. 5 | CBS | 8 p.m. | |
| 5 | 5.6 | Ohio State at Wisconsin | Saturday, Oct. 15 | ABC | 8 p.m. |
| 6 | 5.4 | Alabama at Ole Miss | Saturday, Sept. 17 | CBS | 3:30 p.m. |
| 5.4 | Texas A&M at Alabama | Saturday, Oct. 22 | CBS | 3:30 p.m. | |
| 8 | 5.3 | Ole Miss vs. Florida State | Monday, Sept. 5 | ESPN | 8 p.m. |
| 9 | 4.9 | USC vs. Alabama | Saturday, Sept. 3 | ABC | 8 p.m. |
| 4.9 | LSU vs. Wisconsin | Saturday, Sept. 3 | ABC | 3:30 p.m. |
