PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Sunday’s season opener for Rutgers football did a pretty decent job nationally, despite an unconventional timeslot for the program.
According to information culled by Sports Media Watch, the Northwestern at Rutgers game drew a 1.5 Nielsen rating and 2.679 million viewers. Those are relatively solid numbers for CBS given the college game was played on a Sunday and at noon.
It was the third-most watched sporting event of Sunday trailing the primetime showing of LSU and Florida State (ABC) and the mid-afternoon Oregon State a San Jose State (also on CBS).
The Rutgers opener was the tenth-most watched game of the weekend, besting some traditional powerhouses such as Tennessee, Notre Dame and Auburn – all of whom played on Saturday.
The Big Ten broadcast bested NASCAR (1.2, 2.287 million on USA Network) and ESPN’s broadcast of the New York Yankees-Houston Astros game on Sunday night (.7, 1.288).
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Given that college football is rarely played on Sundays let alone Sunday afternoons, it was a strong number for CBS on a holiday weekend.