The ratings are in from Week 3 of college football. They paint a troubling picture for Auburn and Florida's SEC opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Per Nielsen, Ohio State's 59-3 blowout win over Kent State drew in 2.7 million viewers. By contrast, the Tigers and Gators drew 2.1 million viewers.
Of course, the 10.9 million viewers for the LSU-Ole Miss instant classic had something to do with the small viewership for Auburn and Florida. There's definitely a crossover in markets there, and the unranked matchup obviously lost to the top-10 matchup. The top-10 matchup, after all, featured Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford after leaving the Rebels mid-CFP last December for the Bayou Bengals.
Still, the Kentucky-Texas A&M and Georgia-Arkansas matchups combined for 9.6 million viewers at the noon ET slot. A Big Noon Kickoff matchup between the Buckeyes and Golden Flashes that no one expected to be competitive still outdrew Alex Golesh and Jon Sumrall's SEC debuts. There was absolutely juice to Sumrall, a former Sun Belt title-winning coach at Troy, coaching against Auburn after passing up the Tigers' job.
The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze for a large number of fans. What's more troubling is that there wasn't even a weather delay, unlike the Florida State-Alabama game, which had seven million views.
Auburn football needs to build hype back up before it's too late
Golesh's program fighting back and making the game interesting clearly didn't have viewers turning the channel at the same time LSU was staging its own near-comeback against Ole Miss.
More and more viewers will tune out if the losses pile up.
At some point, many will simply stop believing in Auburn. Two bad coaching hires, followed by one that doesn't change the results fast enough, are forcing attention away from the product.
The Tigers need to reverse this trend as soon as possible.
Auburn football has plenty of time to make things right
Auburn has plenty of chances to make it right this season. If the Tigers have only one or two losses by November, the Iron Bowl will blow past the 10.9 million views LSU-Ole Miss got. Hell, in 2025, the Iron Bowl had 11.3 million viewers with a six-loss Auburn team.
College football is still warming up in the early season. Naturally, the momentum of the season builds through October and November.
It's disappointing to see Florida-Auburn get what seems like low viewership, but both programs earned it after disappointing seasons in the 2020s.
They can earn high ratings again by season's end. There's work to do to get there, and two or three losses by the Iron Bowl may be a tough ask, but the Tigers are a pillar in this sport.
Auburn's return to national relevance will be can't-miss television, whenever that happens.
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