Last Saturday night’s thriller between then-No. 8 University of Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State University at Camp Randall Stadium was nothing short of the finest entertainment college football has to offer.
The excitement and hype of the game garnered the attention of much more than Wisconsin’s state capital though, as the prime-time matchup proved the third most-watched college football game of the 2016 season to date. It was also the most-watched sporting event across all networks for Saturday, Oct. 15.
The Badgers and Buckeyes traded punches all the way through regulation and into overtime before a victor was crowned in a clash between two of the top 10 teams in the country.
The result was ultimately decided on the final play of the game when the Badgers offense faced a do-or-die situation on 4th and goal down seven points in the first overtime period. The Buckeyes would survive the near upset 30-23 after OSU’s front four collapsed the Wisconsin pocket and sacked a back-pedaling Alex Hornibrook.
Football: Big Ten heavyweights duke it out in Madison Saturday night
The conference showdown reeled in a total live audience of more than 9.1 million viewers between television and streaming, making it the one of the five most-streamed regular season college football games ever for ESPN’s network.
The only two games that have drawn larger audiences so far this season were University of Notre Dame vs. University of Texas followed by Clemson University vs. University of Louisville in a top 5 matchup between two of the country’s Heisman Trophy front-runners, quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson.
Viewership peaked during the overtime period with a spike of greater than 2 million more viewers than the highest total during game’s four quarters of regulation.
