Notre Dame-Penn State TV ratings revealed with major fall in viewers for CFP semifinal
Millions fewer people watched Notre Dame’s victory over Penn State in the CFP semifinal than they did the year before.
The Fighting Irish emerged victorious in the fourth quarter of the fiercely contested game, winning 27–24.
After defeating the Texas Longhorns, Notre Dame, who have a 13-1 record this season, will play Ohio State in the National Championship Games.
However, compared to last year, just 17.8 million people watched Notre Dame’s victory over Penn State.
In the Rose Bowl in 2024, Alabama defeated Michigan in front of 27.8 million spectators.
But that game was played on New Year’s Day, a holiday.
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Viewership may have suffered because the Notre Dame vs. Penn State game was the first semifinal to be held on a Thursday night that wasn’t a holiday.
A total of 16.9 million people watched ESPN, compared to 733,000 for ESPN2 and 144,000 for ESPNU.
On New Year’s Day in 2021, the last Orange Bowl CFP semifinal game drew a slightly larger audience of 17.2 million.
Out of the 21 semifinal games since the multiteam playoff’s inception in 2005, just five semifinals have had less views than Thursday’s game.
On Monday, January 20, the National Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Notre Dame hopes to win their first national title since 1988 and its 12th overall.
Eight national titles are recognized by Ohio State, including two after Notre Dame’s final two, in 2002 and 2014.
Notre Dame received a huge $20 million prize for making it to the National Championship game as an independent FBS team.
According to reports, Notre Dame will keep the entire sum for itself because it has no affiliation.
In other sports, the Fighting Irish are affiliated with the ACC.
However, they continue to play football independently, which enables them to keep all of the money they make from other sources.
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However, there was a contentious scene during their semifinal when Notre Dame supporters hurled debris onto the field following a late penalty call.
Near the front of the end zone, with 8:48 minutes remaining in regulation, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar intercepted a ball intended for Tyler Warren and passed it to Jack Kiser of Notre Dame.
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Adon Shuler, one of two players who double-covered Warren, was given a pass interference penalty by the referees despite the play seeming like a game-changing turnover.
One camera focused on a beer bottle that made it to the end zone as it was hurled into the field.