The World Wants Alabama

The College Football Playoff has hit a new low. Georgia's dominant win of 65-7 over TCU in the National Championship has brought in the worst TV ratings for a National Championship in the CFP and BCS era.

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The game averaged 17.2 million viewers which is significantly lower than both the semifinal games. The Peach Bowl between Georgia and Ohio State brought in 22.45 million viewers and the Fiesta Bowl between TCU and Michigan brought in 21.70 million viewers. The worst part is that the National Championship barely beat out the most-watched regular season game, Michigan vs Ohio State, which brought in 17.14 million viewers.

Imagine the Super Bowl or the FIFA World Cup which are the biggest events for their respected sports not even surpassing a regular season game.

The question now is what happened and would Alabama have saved this game?

According to Sports Media Watch, the answer is yes. Last year's national title game between Alabama and Georgia brought in an average of 22.6 million viewers and the first Alabama national championship under Nick Saban, against Texas, brought in 30 million viewers. Even the 2nd-and-26 game between Alabama and Georgia brought in eight million more viewers than this year's national title game.

What College Football fans really want though is close, tight, and interesting matchups in the game. The most-watched National Championship in the CFP era was the Oregon vs Ohio State game in 2014 which averaged 34 million viewers. The most ratings for any National Championship came in 2006 when Texas beat USC in what many consider the greatest game of all time. That game brought in 35.6 million viewers.

If Alabama had faced Georgia in the national championship, it would have helped the ratings. But the best ratings come from the two best teams playing in a tight National Championship game. Judging by this year's National Championship, the College Football Playoff Committee did not put in the four best teams.