College Football Playoff games with Group of 5 teams, NFL overlap drew significantly less viewership in first round

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As the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers were playing a December game with playoff implications at Soldier Field on Saturday night, James Madison raced to put up as many points as it could after falling behind 34-3 in the first half of a first-round College Football Playoff game against Oregon.

The Bears pulled off an improbable comeback, complete with an onside-kick recovery and a game-ending, 46-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore that ripped through the wind in overtime. Meanwhile, JMU made a 51-34 loss look closer than it actually was.

Oregon-JMU averaged 4.4 million viewers, according to ESPN PR, which reported that, earlier in the day, Ole Miss' 41-10 win over Tulane averaged 6.2 million viewers.

That game bled into the start of Eagles-Commanders, which kicked off an NFL Saturday doubleheader on Fox. Both of the games with Group of Five teams and NFL overlap drew significantly less viewership than the other two games in the first round of the CFP.

Those of course featured marquee matchups that proved far more competitive. They also didn't go up against an NFL schedule. 

Alabama-Oklahoma, which saw the Crimson Tide rally from 17 points down, averaged 14.9 million viewers, and Miami-Texas A&M, which showcased a defensive standoff in a blustery College Station, averaged 14.8 million viewers, according to ESPN PR.

Both were one-score games in the fourth quarter. Alabama capped its comeback for a 34-24 win. Miami buckled down at the goal line with an interception in the end zone to clinch a 10-3 victory. 

Alabama-Oklahoma was on ABC, with an 8 p.m. kickoff Friday. It was the most-watched CFP first-round game on record, per ESPN PR. (This is Year 2 of the 12-team playoff.) 

Miami-Texas A&M was on ABC, with a 12 p.m. kickoff Saturday. It peaked at 19.3 million viewers, per ESPN.

Neither of those games conflicted with the NFL's Saturday slate.

Ole Miss-Tulane and Oregon-JMU were both on TNT. ESPN and TNT Sports have an agreement that allows TNT to sublicense select CFP games from ESPN.

TNT had two first-round CFP games last season and two more this time around. 

Group of Five auto-bid teams suffering blowout losses to at-large power conference teams stirred up more questions about the format of the playoff.

So will the viewership numbers, however, those were likely also affected by an NFL takeover Saturday.

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