The Grandaddy of Them All was the most-watched of them all.

The Oregon Ducks’ disheartening 41-21 defeat to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl drew an average of 21.1 million viewers and reached a peak of 24.3 million viewers, according to ESPN, making it one of the most popular sporting events in a calendar year.

Oregon and Ohio State staged the most-watched quarterfinal matchup of the expanded College Football Playoff, and the most-watched non-NFL sporting event since the 2024 CFP championship game between Michigan and Washington.

And the popularity extended beyond the main broadcast for ESPN.

The Pat McAfee Show’s broadcast of the Rose Bowl drew an average of 2.4 million viewers — the most ever for an ESPN alternate broadcast — and ESPN’s College GameDay drew an average of 2.4 million viewers (with a peak of 4.6 million viewers), the most-watched New Year’s Day episode in the history of the show.

The Rose Bowl outdrew the next-closest quarterfinal matchup — the Peach Bowl — by 3.8 million viewers. The Texas-Arizona State double overtime thriller drew an average of 17.3 million viewers, while the Sugar Bowl (Notre Dame vs. Georgia) and Fiesta Bowl (Penn State vs. Boise State) drew an average of 15.8 and 13.9 million viewers, respectively.

The 2024 Rose Bowl, which pitted Michigan against Alabama in the CFP semifinals, drew an average of 27.2 million viewers.

The Ducks’ were a strong draw throughout the 2024 college football season, their first in the Big Ten, as they drew an average audience of more than 2.0 million nine times and surpassed the 4.0 million mark four times. Here are the Ducks’ viewership numbers for the 2024 season:

Ohio State in Rose Bowl: 21.1 million viewers (ESPN)

Penn State: 10.50 million (CBS)

Ohio State: 9.60 million (NBC)

Wisconsin: 4.12 million (NBC)

Michigan State: 2.84 million (FOX)

Oregon State: 2.82 million (FOX)

Illinois: 2.75 million (CBS)

Washington: 2.57 million (NBC)

Purdue: 2.15 million (FOX)

UCLA: 1.5 million (FOX)

Maryland: 817,000 (Big Ten Network)

Idaho: 425,000 (Big Ten)

— Joe Freeman covers the Oregon Ducks. Reach him at 503-294-5183 or @BlazerFreeman. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.