Ohio State at Oregon Draws Huge Television Audience, Highest in Big Ten Since 2008

An instant classic from Autzen Stadium, Oregon's down-to-the-final-play 32-31 win over Ohio State was the most-watched regular season game in the Big Ten in 16 years.

The epic back and forth battle between the #2 Buckeyes and #3 Ducks drew an average 10.2 million viewers to NBC, 13.4 million at its peak. That's in addition to a stadium record 60,129 fans, yelling at a level approaching 127 decibels.

The game delivered. It featured 8 lead changes and wasn't decided until time ran out when Will Howard scrambled into field goal range and slid down as the clock hit zeroes. The two teams combined for 963 yards of offense and just one turnover, explosive plays of 69, 53, 48, 38, 32, 32, 27, 25 and 25 yards.

It's a rivalry that will ignite interest in Big Ten football for several years to come. The Buckeyes are one of college football's bluebloods with 7 national championships. They've finished the AP Top Ten 19 times in the last 22 years.

The Ducks are a college football upstart, but they are 28-5 under third-year head coach Dan Lanning. Yesterday was his first victory over a Top Five Team.

One of the keys to the win was a superb effort by the Oregon defense. Scott Reed of Ducks Sports Authority noted that after allowing 122 yards rushing on 21 carries in the first half (5.8 ypc), Oregon held the Buckeyes to just 19 total rushing yards on 12 carries in the second. Quinshon Judkins had just 3 carries for 6 yards and TreVeon Henderson just 13 yards on 4 carries. Over their first six games, Judkins and Henderson gashed opponents for 8 yards a carry, a rushing attack that seemed impossible to stop.