Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes National Championship Ranks Most-Watched Ever

Oregon Ducks fans had to watch the National Championship on Monday with a sour taste in their mouth knowing that their team came up two wins short of playing in the game despite a 12-0 regular season and a Big Ten title.
The team that eliminated Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl, the Ohio State Buckeyes, instead got to feel the flurry of the confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after holding off Notre Dame for a 34-23 win. But despite this year's national title game being the first in the 12-team College Football Playoff era, it didn't match the hype of the 2014 CFP National Championship when it comes to TV ratings.
That game over a decade ago marked the most recent time the Ducks have played in the national championship of college football. Unfortunately for trophy-hungry Oregon fans, the Ducks were beat by the Buckeyes who were led by third-string quarterback Cardale Jones and star running back Ezekiel Elliott.
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Though their meeting in the Rose Bowl didn't exactly live up to the hype, the two programs' historic meeting in the inaugural CFP remains the most-watched national championship in the College Football Playoff era.
Here's the full list:
CFP National Championship TV Viewers
— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) January 23, 2025
34.1M—Ohio St-Oregon, 2014
28.4M—Alabama-Georgia, 2017
26.2M—Alabama-Clemson, 2015
25.6M—LSU-Clemson, 2019
25.3M—Clemson-Alabama, 2018
25.3M—Clemson-Alabama, 2016
25.1M—Michigan-Washington, 2023
22.6M—Georgia-Alabama, 2021
22.1M—Ohio…
In order to make it to that game, Marcus Mariota and the No. 3-seeded Ducks had to head to the Rose Bowl to take down star quarterback Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles, who were the defending national champions.
And in a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2015 NFL Draft a few months later, Mariota got the best of Winston and the Seminoles. Oregon left little doubt in that one, using a 27-point third quarter -- highlighted by a 58-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tony Washington -- to cruise to a 59-20 win.
However, the Ducks were unable to build off of that dominant performance and fell short of the program's first-ever national title once again. The Buckeyes were just too dominant, ending Oregon's championship hopes with a 42-20 win in the title game.
Elliott finished with a historic stat line in the win, totaling 36 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns. That year's national championship marked his third straight 200-yard game.
As for Oregon, Mariota went 24 of 37 passing for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his final game as a member of the program. Former Ducks receiver Byron Marshall had eight catches for 169 yards and one touchdown.
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