SEC football games generally make for good television, regardless of the game. But SEC showdown games that carry plenty of College Football Playoff implications can generate blockbuster TV ratings, and that’s exactly what happened once again in Week 9.

This time, ABC was the direct beneficiary. The network’s Week 9 tripleheader on Saturday produced 3 of the 5 highest-rated games, and wouldn’t you know 2 of those 3 games were SEC battles.

The Missouri-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa at 3:30 p.m. ET was the most-watched afternoon game of Week 9 with 5.7 million viewers. Ratings peaked at 6.3 million viewers, which shows you how good Alabama is for the ratings, as the game itself was a dud, with the Crimson Tide taking a 34-0 victory to maintain their playoff hopes. But even in a blowout, Alabama can match great ratings, and that was the formula Saturday.

Meanwhile, the LSU-Texas A&M showdown in College Station was the most-watched primetime game of Week 9, with the 7:30 p.m. ET start on ABC being watched by 5.1 million viewers. The peak audience for the Tigers-Aggies game was 5.6 million viewers, with the battle having major implications for the playoffs.

Finally, ABC’s noon game wasn’t an SEC game, but it did involve Notre Dame, which is also always a good formula for good TV ratings. The Fighting Irish’s neutral site battle against Navy was watched by 2.9 million viewers, with a peak audience of 3.2 million viewers.

Final @ESPNFCB The Week 9 numbers are in and ABC has scored 3 of the top 5 games!

@MizzouFootball–@AlabamaFTBL | 5.7 million viewers
@LSUfootball–@AggieFootball | 5.1 million viewers
@NDFootball–@NavyFB | 2.9 million viewers pic.twitter.com/wXwtB4sN1Q

—ESPNPR (@ESPNPR) October 29, 2024