The expanded College Football Playoff resulted in some increased ratings across the board, culminating in a huge number of fans tuning in to watch Ohio State win the national championship game against Notre Dame to cap off a historic 2024 season.

Ohio State’s win over the Fighting Irish averaged 22.1 million viewers, ESPN announced, making it the most-watched game of the College Football Playoff.

But that number still represented a slight decline from the national championship played between Michigan and Washington last year, which averaged 25.05 million people at its height.

The national championship game kicked off just hours after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, but coverage of that event also continued throughout the day.

That could have played a role in drawing viewers away from the College Football Playoff, but even with that slight fall, the game was still the most-watched, non-NFL sporting event in the past year.

This marked the first year that college football hosted a 12-team playoff invitational, expanding from its previous four-team format over the last decade.

TNT broadcast two first round games played on campus in an agreement to sublicense the contests from ESPN, but the Worldwide Leader became the exclusive broadcaster of the matchups the rest of the way.

The Rose Bowl quarterfinal game between Ohio State and Oregon became the most-watched non-NFL event prior to the national title, drawing 21.1 million viewers to watch the Buckeyes avenge their loss to the Ducks in a 20-point victory.

Ohio State then played in the most-watched Cotton Bowl in history, with 20.6 million people tuning in to see the Buckeyes take down the Longhorns in a dramatic, last-minute semifinal victory.

Notre Dame and Penn State played their Orange Bowl semifinal in front of 17.8 million people, according to ESPN’s official figures.

Expanding the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams predictably resulted in more people watching NCAA football games, and that could inspire the CFP to expand the format further.

But there are still big questions as to how or when that would happen and what the finished product would look like, with some speculation that the playoff could expand to 14 teams, with other reports suggesting a 16-team format may be in the works.

Those are questions that will be addressed in the weeks and months to come.

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