LSU-Alabama Posts Monstrous Ratings Bump and Registers Biggest Mark Since 2011

It goes without saying that a plethora of college football fans were left disgruntled when they realized that Saturday's matchup between No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Alabama was slated for a 3:30 p.m. ET start time.

After all, it marked the first time that since 2010 that the marquee SEC showdown was not scheduled for primetime. That settlement was largely due to an agreement CBS had with ESPN, but that's not what is important here.

Folks, this weekend's 87-point barn burner stood as the highest-rated regular season game -- not including conference championship tilts -- since 2011. Ironically enough, that came the last time the Tigers and Crimson Tide played in a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup.

According to Nielsen, LSU-Bama averaged a 9.7 rating and whopping 16.64 million viewers. In fact, the game peaked with an astounding 20.61 million viewers during the fourth quarter from 7:00-7:15 p.m. ET.

These ratings mark a colossal turnaround in terms of a Crimson Tide-Tigers clash, as the 2017 matchup delivered its lowest ratings in more than 10 years.

To put these mind-boggling numbers into perspective, the previously highest-rated college football game of 2019 came on the Sept. 21 tilt between Notre Dame and Georgia. That produced 9.349 million viewers.

Saturday's matchup of CFB behemoths was expected to be the game of the year, but we're not so sure that anybody expected it to garner this significant of a following.

It lived up to its billing and then some, and confirms that football fans LOVE a high-scoring affair.