Overview
- Texas mounted a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback to beat Ohio State 24-23 on Saturday, with Arch Manning finishing the game with 195 yards and one touchdown.
- ESPN PR reported the ABC telecast averaged 14.0 million viewers and peaked at 16.4 million, marking the largest regular-season audience on an ESPN network since 2016.
- The 14.0 million average is down from the same matchup's 2025 Fox noon broadcast, which averaged 16.6 million, and combined Fox Big Noon windows slightly outsold ABC primetime across the weekend.
- Recent Nielsen methodological updates, including added co-viewing metrics and Big Data refinements, complicate direct year-over-year comparisons of these ratings.
- The result moved Texas to No. 1 and Ohio State to No. 6 and has renewed discussion about how kickoff time, promotion and measurement changes could shape future network scheduling and rights value.