A record-setting audience watched BYU defeat no. 2 Notre Dame in a historic top 10 showdown. According to an October 20 report from ESPN Public Relations, the game averaged 9.2 million viewers and reached a peak of 13.2 million viewers.
The 9.2 million average viewership represents the largest television audience for a BYU game in the modern era. This figure surpasses the previous record set during BYU's loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game, which averaged 9.0 million viewers. The BYU-Notre Dame matchup was the most-watched Big 12 controlled game since 2022 and the second most-watched of this decade, excluding Big 12 championship games. It stands as the most viewed regular season game since the conference lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.
The high viewership extended to the College GameDay broadcast from Provo, which averaged 3 million viewers. This performance made it the most-watched episode of the season and the third most-watched regular season episode ever. The game was the most-viewed game on ESPN networks and is likely to be the most-viewed game of the college football weekend, with Ohio State-Indiana being the only other game capable of rivaling the audience.
The game is believed to be the second most-viewed game in BYU history. According to BYU associate director of communications Duff Tittle in 2024, a 1953 game between BYU and Utah was believed to be watched by more than 60 million people.
The victory over the Fighting Irish has earned national respect for the program. This outcome may change the perception of the program as BYU continues to compete for attention from the College Football Playoff committee after being left out of the playoffs last season despite a playoff-worthy resume.
