Alabama football fans have something to celebrate during the bye week. A recent release of season-to-date viewership (linear TV and streaming) puts Alabama college football's No.1 with 53.8 million viewers. Alabama has an eighth-game advantage that many other teams don't. Texas, after seven games, is No. 2 with 48.7 million viewers.
The top teams range from No. 20 Utah with 15.1 million viewers. Ten of the 20 most-viewed teams are SEC teams. The Big Ten has just five. The ACC and the Big 12 have two. And of course, Notre Dame made the list, though the Fighting Irish's 27.4 million trailed three SEC teams. More details are provided below.
Alabama gets it right and Texas Tech doesn't
The 20 most-viewed teams don't include Texas Tech. Estimates are that the Red Raiders and the Crimson Tide are close in player payroll spending. There is a money difference. Former Tech player Cody Campbell has thrown tens of millions of dollars to improve the Red Raiders football program. The self-anointed billionaire has plenty to spare. As Will Leitch wrote for The Athletic, Campbell is "not the only rich guy spending stupid money on his football team. He’s just the loudest about it."
Campbell was shouting loud after his Red Raiders lost to Cincinnati.
There is no excuse or reason to lose a game like this. We have to be better. @TexasTechFB
— Cody Campbell (@CodyC64) October 24, 2026
Texas Tech has the Big 12's largest player payroll. The Bearcats have the smallest.
Campbell made other statements about accountability that basically said from the players to the Texas Tech head coach, performance is worse than needing improvement. His tone definitely had an 'or else' quality.
Two things that Campbell and Texas Tech appear not to understand are that college football's 'return on investment' is high-risk, and that unintended consequences can lead to a downfall. Campbell apparently believes his money means he is, or should be, in charge of Texas Tech football.
Campbell seems not to understand that brands must be built on the value of their product or service. He can't simply buy a new brand of Red Raiders football. It must be built sustainably.
Alabama is not at risk of a Campbell-like micro-manager mucking with its football program. There are many reasons why. One is the Crimson Tide's donor base doesn't have comparable deep pockets. A second reason comes from the coaching careers of Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide legends proved Alabama coaches must be free to run their program without outside interference.
The third reason is Alabama is a long-established, successful brand. The brand, more than the 2026 team, drives high viewership.
Additional Viewership Numbers: No. 3 Ohio State (39.9M); No. 4 Michigan (34.2M); No. 5 Ole Miss (33.3M); No. 6 LSU (29.7M); No. 8 Texas A&M (25.7M); No. 9 Tennessee (25.7M); No. 19 Indiana (23.8M); No. 11 Georgia (22.5M); No. 12 Florida State (21.4M); No. 13 Oklahoma (21.3M); No. 14 BYU (21M); No. 15 Florida (19.5M); No. 16 Oregon (18.5M); No. 17 USC (17.4M); No. 18 Auburn (16.3M); No. 19 Clemson (15.3M); and No. 20 Utah (15.1M).
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