Indiana vs Miami does massive TV ratings, most-watched non-NFL event in 10 years

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Indiana vs Miami does massive TV ratings, most-watched non-NFL event in 10 years

Indiana vs Miami does massive TV ratings, most-watched non-NFL event in 10 years

John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK · USA TODAY Sports

Thu, Jan 22, 2026 ·

3 min read

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The College Football Playoff continues to dominate TV viewership ratings.

According to ESPN, Monday's national championship game between Indiana and Miami averaged 30.1 million viewers across the network's "megacast" offerings, making it not only the most-watched game of this CFP, but also the most-watched non-NFL sporting event since the Chicago Cubs defeated Cleveland in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

It's the second-most-watched national championship game since the CFP started in 2014, and peaked at 33.2 million viewers.

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The 30.1 million viewers who tuned into Indiana 's 27-21 win over Miami is a notable jump from last year's national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, which brought in an average of 22.1 million viewers.

Heisman Trophy winner and Miami native Fernando Mendoza provided a critical score for the Hoosiers on Monday with his gutsy 12-yard rushing touchdown on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. Jamari Sharpe sealed the win for the Hoosiers with an interception of Carson Beck with 44 seconds remaining.

With its win, Indiana completed one of the more remarkable turnarounds in college football history, which began two years ago with Curt Cignetti's hiring in November 2023. The Hoosiers also joined the 1894 Yale Bulldogs as the only two teams in major college football history to go undefeated with 16-0 records in a single season.

2025-26 College Football Playoff TV ratings

ESPN also released TV viewership numbers for the entire 11-game CFP slate on Wednesday. It mentioned that the second year of the 12-team field brought in an average of 16.3 million viewers, which was a 4% increase from last season.

Surprisingly, both of the national semifinal matchups — Indiana vs. Oregon in the Peach Bowl and Miami vs. Mississippi in the Fiesta Bowl — were not included in the top four most-watched CFP games this season. The Hoosiers' Peach Bowl win came in at No. 5 (18 million), while the Hurricanes ' Fiesta Bowl win came in at No. 7 (15.8 million), just behind Miami's first-round win over Texas A&M.

Here's a game-by-game breakdown of the most-watched games from the 2025-26 College Football Playoff:

CFP National Championship (Miami vs. Indiana):30.1 million
CFP Rose Bowl Quarterfinal (Alabama vs. Indiana):23.9 million
CFP Cotton Bowl Quarterfinal (Miami vs. Ohio State):19.0 million
CFP Sugar Bowl Quarterfinal (Ole Miss vs. Georgia):18.7 million
CFP Peach Bowl Semifinal (Oregon vs. Indiana):18.0 million
CFP Orange Bowl Quarterfinal (Oregon vs. Texas Tech):15.9 million
CFP Fiesta Bowl Semifinal (Miami vs. Ole Miss):Ole Miss 15.8 million
CFP First Round (Alabama at Oklahoma):14.9 million
CFP First Round (Miami at Texas A&M):14.8 million
CFP First Round (Tulane at Ole Miss):6.2 million*
CFP First Round (James Madison at Oregon):4.4 million*

* Denotes games that aired on TNT

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Indiana Hoosiers claim first national football title over Miami

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) embraces his family on the field Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, after defeating the Miami (FL) Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

(Grace Hollars, IndyStar via USA TODAY NETWORK)