Fansided

College Football Playoff games beat Cardinals-Panthers in ESPN TV ratings

By Charles Rahrig V

Jan 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes the ball during the second half of the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game against the Oregon Ducks at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes the ball during the second half of the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game against the Oregon Ducks at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The College football ratings keep raising the bar as they took down the NFL

More from Arizona Cardinals

Needless to say, the College Football Playoff has been nothing short of a success in its first year. They have another accomplishment to add to the many things the new system has accomplished already, drawing a higher rating than an NFL Wild Card round playoff game.

The Rose Bowl, which featured Oregon and Florida State and the Sugar Bowl, which featured Ohio State and Alabama, outdrew Saturday afternoon’s Wild Card round contest between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.

Now, maybe it’s because college football had a holiday to display their best and brightest, or maybe it was because fans didn’t want to tune in to see Ryan Lindley take on the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals and Panthers don’t have the ratings draw of say a New England or Denver, but still it’s the NFL and any game is going to bring in ratings regardless.

Maybe the game being played during a Saturday afternoon had something to do with it as well.

Regardless, this is a big feat for college football, and it shows the new playoff system is a giant success. Anytime you can defeat the ratings giant that is the National Football League, you are doing something right. Going to a playoff was the right decision for the NCAA and it is paying off handsomely thus far.

It will be interesting to see the ratings for the championship game can correlate from a holiday like New Year’s Day to a regular day as that game will be held on a Monday when people have work the next day. The game will no doubt bring in big ratings, but can it match its predecessor?

College football has taken big steps this year and has now closed the gap a bit between them and the NFL.

More from FanSided

Home/Arizona Cardinals