UNC’s Take: 4 Million Tuned In to Iowa State vs Kansas State in Ireland

College football came back with a pint of Guinness in hand, and the numbers prove folks were thirsty. Saturday’s Week 0 clash between Iowa State and Kansas State in Dublin drew 4.01 million viewers according to Sports Media Watch.

That’s not small potatoes — but let’s put it in perspective.

The Numbers Game

• 4.01 million makes it the 73rd most-watched game of last season.
• It still ranks as Iowa State’s third most-watched game of 2024, which tells you how rare this kind of exposure is for the Cyclones.
• For comparison:
  • Florida State–Georgia Tech (Ireland 2024) → 4.99M
  • Notre Dame–Navy (Ireland 2023) → 3.56M
  • Nebraska–Northwestern (Ireland 2022) → 4.42M

The overseas kickoff is quietly becoming one of college football’s most reliable eyeball magnets. People may clown the “Ireland game,” but it keeps putting up solid numbers.

Week 0 Effect

The key driver here? Deprivation. Fans have been starved for football for nine months, so they’ll watch almost anything with shoulder pads and marching bands. One Reddit commenter nailed it: “The game thread had more than 20K comments. That’s the power of Week 0.”

It’s the same principle that has grown March Madness play-in games or NFL preseason Hall of Fame Games into “events.” It’s not always about the matchup — it’s about the timing.

Big 12 Spotlight

Of course, plenty of SEC and Big Ten fans didn’t bother. One fan joked, “A lot of people only watch SEC or B1G games and nobody else exists outside major bowls.” That’s the uphill battle for the Big 12. Even with two ranked teams, even with a neutral-site novelty, you’re still swimming against the tide of national perception.

Rocco’s World

Let’s not forget the subplot: 4 million people got introduced to Rocco Becht. The Iowa State quarterback turned Kansas State into a highlight reel victim, and now he’s one of the faces of Week 0 lore. As one fan put it: “4 million people watched Kansas State get owned by a kid named Rocco.”

Final Word from Unc

Bottom line: rookie numbers or not, 4 million ain’t nothing to sneeze at. For Week 0, for two Big 12 squads without “blueblood” branding, it’s a strong pull. And it’s another reminder why the Ireland kickoff has cemented itself as an early-season tradition — because when the drought breaks, fans will drink up anything.