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Defending national champion Alabama's win over Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M has drawn the highest preliminary television rating for an afternoon regular-season college football game on CBS in 23 years.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide's 49-42 victory Saturday over the No. 6 Aggies earned a 9.0 overnight rating and 21 share. The network said Sunday that was the best since a 10.1 for Miami-Notre Dame on Oct. 20, 1990.
The rating was triple that for CBS's first SEC broadcast of the season a year ago, a 3.0/7 for Alabama-Arkansas.
The rematch had been highly anticipated ever since A&M stunned Alabama on the road last year, catapulting its quarterback to become the first freshman to win the Heisman. Manziel's offseason NCAA issues only added to the intrigue.
The two teams didn't disappoint Saturday in a back-and-forth game in which Johnny Football accounted for 562 total yards.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned to a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets.
