Michigan-Michigan State didn't get the prime-time slot.
But it sure got the eyeballs.
Saturday's rivalry game, a thrilling battle of unbeatens won by the Spartans, 37-33, was the most-watched college football game of the season, Fox Sports announced Tuesday, the day weekend television ratings typically are released. The game was watched by an average of 9.289 million viewers.
That's a massive haul for any college football game, but particularly impressive for an in-state showdown so regionalized. By comparison, the previous night's World Series game averaged 11.5 million viewers. Saturday night's World Series game averaged 10.771 million.