College GameDay started the 2025 season strongly and never looked back.
It all began back in August as the program said goodbye to the legendary Lee Corso with his final show. In what was a perfect moment of symmetry, Corso put on his last headgear pick where he did his first, at Ohio State. However, this time he did it in the middle of Ohio Stadium in front of over 100,000 fans. Incredibly, he also went perfect on his final picks, going out in amazing style.
Naturally, Corso’s finale was the most-watched single episode in the history of College GameDay with an average of 3.5 million viewers and over 5 million tuning in for the grand finale.
Although ESPN’s flagship college football show didn’t quite reach those heights, it still continued to set ratings records throughout the season. So it’s no surprise that GameDay finished 2025 with its most-watched season on record.
The program averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 22% in year-over-year viewership. Incredibly, it also scored its top nine regular season shows in program history.
The ’25 @CollegeGameDay reg. season was one for the record books!⁰
🏈 Most-watched season on record
🏈 Finished w/2.7M avg. viewers, up 22% YoY
🏈 Top 9 most-watched reg. season shows EVER
🏈 Demo gains YoY: women (+34%) & P2-17 (+39%)
🏈 Week 15: 2.3M viewers at @SEC Champ pic.twitter.com/MgZq3oODso— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) December 9, 2025
It’s a credit to GameDay for how they have gone from strength to strength and successfully transitioned from the Corso era to one with Pat McAfee now in the center spotlight. Although there have been some moments that have caused some consternation and controversy, there is no doubt that the show is in a great place overall at the moment. The kicking contest is must-see TV every week and the balance between McAfee’s energy and Nick Saban’s expertise bring a little something for everybody.
Live sporting events have benefitted from the Big Data era of Nielsen measurement, but even with that caveat, these increases for College GameDay are incredibly impressive. With the addition of Dave Portnoy and Big Noon Kickoff seeking to compete head-to-head, it’s only pushed ESPN’s show to new heights in both ratings and influence. While Big Noon had their own ratings triumphs to speak of, they still finished well behind GameDay in the overall ratings battle. Now more than ever, ESPN and College GameDay own Saturday mornings in the fall.
About Matt Yoder