{"id":500424,"date":"2026-01-08T03:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/500424\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T03:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:30:13","slug":"college-football-tv-ratings-top-10-most-watched-non-cfp-bowl-games-of-2025-26-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/500424\/","title":{"rendered":"College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched non-CFP bowl games of 2025-26 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through the first part of Bowl Season, ESPN announced its non-College Football Playoff<\/strong><\/a> TV ratings surged. That trend continued through the rest of the bowl games.<\/p>\n

Across the 33 non-CFP bowl games that aired on ESPN networks, viewership increased by 13% year-over-year, the network announced<\/a>. The Citrus Bowl<\/strong> between Michigan<\/a><\/strong> and Texas<\/a><\/strong> led the charge, just surpassing the Pop-Tarts Bowl<\/strong> for the top spot.<\/p>\n

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All told, 11 bowl games hit at least a five-year high this season, ESPN said. Here are the most-watched non-College Football Playoff bowl games for 2025, based on Nielsen Big Data + Panel data.<\/p>\n

Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Texas<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 31, 3 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ABC<\/strong>
Viewers: 9.1 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Texas<\/a><\/strong> coach Steve Sarkisian<\/a><\/strong> predicted the Citrus Bowl<\/strong> would draw strong TV ratings, and it did just that to lead non-College Football Playoff bowl game viewership. An average of 9.1 million viewers tuned in as Arch Manning<\/a><\/strong> and the Longhorns defeated Bryce Underwood<\/a><\/strong> and Michigan<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pop-Tarts Bowl: BYU vs. Georgia Tech<\/p>\n

\"Pop-Tarts\u00a9 Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ABC<\/strong>
Viewers: 8.7 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most popular bowl games delivered for ESPN as 8.7 million viewers watched the Pop-Tarts Bowl<\/strong>. BYU<\/a><\/strong> held on for a wild victory over Georgia Tech<\/a><\/strong> Dec. 27, meaning the Cougars had the chance to partake in one of the sport\u2019s newest traditions: eating the edible mascot.<\/p>\n

Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State vs. Clemson<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 27, Noon ET<\/strong>
Channel: ABC<\/strong>
Viewers: 7.6 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Pinstripe Bowl<\/strong>\u00a0between\u00a0Penn State<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Clemson<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0drew its best viewership on record as 7.6 million people tuned in for the Nittany Lions\u2019 victory over the Tigers. It marked the final game for Terry Smith<\/a><\/strong> as Penn State interim head coach, though he is staying on staff under new head coach Matt Campbell<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gator Bowl: Virginia vs. Missouri<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ABC<\/strong>
Viewers: 5.996 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Gator Bowl<\/strong>\u00a0hit 6.0 million viewers on average Dec. 27 \u2013 its best figure since 2009.\u00a0Virginia<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0took down\u00a0Missouri<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in that game to secure a 10-win season for the Cavaliers as part of an impressive year under Tony Elliott<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Illinois<\/p>\n

\"Illinois\u00a9 Andrew Nelles \/ The Tennessean \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 30, 5:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ESPN<\/strong>
Viewers: 5.4 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

At 5.4 million viewers, the Music City Bowl<\/strong> drew its best viewership since 2021 as Illinois<\/a><\/strong> took on Tennessee<\/a><\/strong>. The Fighting Illini secured another nine-win season under Bret Bielema<\/a><\/strong> as they took down the Volunteers, 30-28, on a last-second field goal from David Olano<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Alamo Bowl: USC vs. TCU<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 30, 9 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ESPN<\/strong>
Viewers: 4.9 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Alamo Bowl<\/strong>, TCU<\/a><\/strong> mounted a comeback late in regulation and eventually forced overtime against USC<\/a><\/strong>. The Trojans scored first in the extra period with a field goal, but the Horned Frogs got the victory as Jeremy Payne<\/a><\/strong> broke free for a wild game-winning touchdown on 3rd and long.<\/p>\n

ReliaQuest Bowl: Iowa vs. Vanderbilt<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 31, Noon ET<\/strong>
Channel: ESPN<\/strong>
Viewers: 4.6 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Points were hard to come by in the first half of the ReliaQuest Bow<\/strong>l, but Iowa<\/a><\/strong> and Vanderbilt<\/a><\/strong> traded blows in the final two quarters. The two teams combined for 44 second-half points, but the Hawkeyes were the ones who came out victorious, 34-27, in front of 4.6 million people on ESPN.<\/p>\n

Rate Bowl: New Mexico vs. Minnesota<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota\u00a9 Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ESPN<\/strong>
Viewers: 4.4 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

At 4.4 million viewers, the\u00a0Rate Bowl<\/strong> drew its highest numbers since 2011 as\u00a0Minnesota<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0picked up yet another bowl game victory under\u00a0P.J. Fleck<\/a><\/strong>, taking down\u00a0New Mexico<\/a><\/strong>. It marked the Golden Gophers\u2019 seventh straight bowl win as they finished the year with an 8-5 overall record.<\/p>\n

L.A. Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Dec. 13, 8 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ABC<\/strong>
Viewers: 3.8 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0L.A. Bowl<\/strong>\u00a0went out on a high note with a new record-high of 3.8 million viewers tuning in for\u00a0Washington\u2019s<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0win against\u00a0Boise State<\/a><\/strong>. It marks the final installment of the game, as On3\u2019s\u00a0Brett McMurphy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0previously\u00a0reported<\/a>, and it drew its highest viewership ever.<\/p>\n

Liberty Bowl: Navy vs. Cincinnati<\/p>\n

Date\/Time: Jan. 2, 4:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
Channel: ESPN<\/strong>
Viewers: 3.4 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the final non-College Football Playoff bowl games also rounds out the 10 most-watched matchups. Navy<\/a><\/strong> completed an 11-win season with a resounding win over Cincinnati<\/a><\/strong> in the Liberty Bowl<\/strong>, which averaged 3.4 million viewers on Jan. 2.<\/p>\n

First Responder Bowl:<\/strong> FIU<\/a><\/strong> vs. UTSA<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 26, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 3.1 million
Las Vegas Bowl<\/strong>: Nebraska<\/a><\/strong> vs. Utah<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 3.0 million
Texas Bowl<\/strong>: LSU<\/a><\/strong> vs. Houston<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 27, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 2.9 million
Hawaii Bowl<\/strong>: Cal<\/a><\/strong> vs. Hawaii<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 24, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 2.7 million
Duke\u2019s Mayo Bowl<\/strong>: Wake Forest<\/a><\/strong> vs. Mississippi State<\/a><\/strong> (Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 2.6 million
Military Bowl<\/strong>: Pitt<\/a><\/strong> vs. East Carolina<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 27, Noon ET, ESPN) \u2013 2.5 million
GameAbove Sports Bowl<\/strong>: Northwestern<\/a><\/strong> vs. Central Michigan<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 26, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN) \u2013 2.4 million
Holiday Bowl<\/strong>: Arizona<\/a><\/strong> vs. SMU<\/a><\/strong> (Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET, FOX) \u2013 2.34 million
Celebration Bowl<\/strong>: SC State<\/a><\/strong> vs. Prairie View A&M<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 13, Noon ET, ABC) \u2013 2.32 million
Sun Bowl<\/strong>: Arizona State<\/a><\/strong> vs. Duke<\/a><\/strong> (Dec. 31, 2 p.m. ET, CBS) \u2013 2.2 million<\/p>\n

Although the non-College Football Playoff bowl games are in the books, the CFP semifinals and national championship are still on the horizon. ESPN has also seen viewership increase throughout this year\u2019s bracket and is hoping to continue that trend the rest of the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through the first part of Bowl Season, ESPN announced its non-College Football Playoff TV ratings surged. That trend…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":500425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-500424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115857367006881919","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}