After reading Dean Straka’s article on the 10 most-viewed college football games of the season, I was shocked to see the different teams and matchups that made this list. Before discussing the list, it should be noted that his article was five out of the 10 matchups on this list involved a Big 10 team, while four other matchups included an SEC team.

To start the list, Ohio State versus Penn State was the tenth-most viewed game at 7.1 million. This was a back-and forth-game in which CJ Stroud won the game late for the Buckeyes. Next was the Penn State “whiteout” game against Auburn. There is no question that most of the viewers tuned in to see the famous whiteout, and it did not disappoint. The game welcomed 7.6 million viewers in a comfortable Penn State win.

The next two games happened in the first two weeks, which did not stop people from watching. At eight was Oregon’s biggest program win in years against Ohio State; Notre Dame versus Florida State was at seven. Notre Dame barely escaped Florida State and the remarkable comeback of McKenzie Milton.

Numbers six to four are all SEC games that drew a massive audience. Alabama versus Florida was the sixth highest-viewed game with 7.9 million viewers, which saw the Gators almost upset the Tide early in the season. At 5 was one of the biggest upsets of the season, as an unranked team in Texas A&M shocked all 8.3 million viewers by defeating the number 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The second-highest watched SEC game was an out-of-conference matchup for the ages. In a top 5 showdown, the Georgia Bulldogs narrowly escaped the Clemson Tigers in a defensive battle. Almost nine million viewers tuned in to the first-week matchup.

In the top 3 most-watched games of the year, each matchup is labeled as one of the biggest rivalries in all of college sports. Michigan versus Michigan State lands at the number three.

In one of the best games in Paul Bunyan’s history, Michigan State–led by Kenneth Walker–defeated Michigan late. Over nine million people watched Michigan unfold against one of its biggest rivals.

At number two was a surprisingly close game between Alabama and Auburn. For most of the game, Auburn barely led and looked like it was going to pull off the upset, but thanks to Bryce Young and John Metchie, Alabama won in four overtimes. Over 10 million people watched the classic Iron Bowl game.

Still, the most-viewed game of the college football season was no other than THE game. People across the country tuned in to the top-5 matchup between the Buckeyes from down south and the Wolverines from up north. In a big-time matchup with perfect snow conditions, Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines finally topped their biggest rival and made the College Football Playoff as a result. A total of 15.9 million people were able to witness the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.