The NFL went up against the College Football Playoffs twice on Saturday.
The league won.
The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs started around the same time as Penn State was blowing the doors off of SMU en route to a 38-10 win in the first round of the CFP at Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley. The Baltimore Ravens took on the Pittsburgh Steelers at the same time the Texans Longhorns battled the Clemson Tigers at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
While the Longhorns-Tigers (38-24) matchup was more competitive than the Steelers-Ravens (34-17), at-home spectators preferred the professional game.
The NFL crushed the CFP on Saturday
Per David Rumsey of Front Office Sports, league viewership was over twice that of the CFP during their first two games on Saturday.
“And an update on Saturday’s CFP vs NFL battle:
- Noon CFP: Penn St-SMU, 6.4M (TNT)
- 1pm NFL: Chiefs-Texans, 15.5M (NBC)
- 4pm CFP: Texas-Clemson, 8.6M (TNT)
- 4:30pm NFL: Ravens-Steelers, 15.4M (Fox)
Total NFL viewership (30.9M) more than doubled CFP (15M),” Rumsey posted on X.
And an update on Saturday's CFP vs NFL battle:
📺 Noon CFP: Penn St-SMU, 6.4M (TNT)
📺 1pm NFL: Chiefs-Texans, 15.5M (NBC)📺 4pm CFP: Texas-Clemson, 8.6M (TNT)
📺 4:30pm NFL: Ravens-Steelers, 15.4M (Fox)Total NFL viewership (30.9M) more than doubled CFP (15M) https://t.co/12IdRx2W7J
— David Rumsey (@_DavidRumsey) December 24, 2024
All four NFL teams are set to head to the postseason in January. It appears most people would rather watch how those teams are seeded for the playoffs than they would professionals who make money on an NIL budget.
Fans discuss the merits of college football
Fans on social media reacted to the rankings.
“College football in general is unwatchable. Minor league baseball or D League basketball at a quality level,” wrote a fan.
“Exactly, that’s what it is like watching college football,” agreed a fan.
“Not as surprised. I live in OK and college football trumps NFL 9 times out of 10. I’m an NFL guy and I’m definitely in the minority. Granted, we are in Cowboys territory where they are either adored or hated (mostly hated),” posted another.
“College football is way better then the NFL,” argued a fan.
“I purposely didn’t watch the NFL games as I thought it was an (expletive) move to schedule big games against the CFP. I didn’t want to give the NFL the ratings. Let College Football have its day. (Expletive) move by the NFL,” posted another.
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