THE FLATS – An average of 8.5 million television viewers – the largest average audience to watch a regular-season game involving an Atlantic Coast Conference team since Week 1 of the 2023 season – was tuned in for the 118th edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate between Georgia Tech and archrival Georgia last Friday on ABC.
Viewership of the eight-overtime epic peaked at 11.5 million during the game’s extra periods, which didn’t conclude until after midnight ET.
With its average of 8.5 million viewers, the Tech-UGA TV audience was:
- college football’s 12th-largest of the 2024 season;
- the second-largest non-Saturday audience of the season (behind only 8.6 million viewers for LSU-USC on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend);
- the largest for a regular-season game involving an ACC team since the opening weekend of the 2023 season (Florida State-LSU on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend);
- the largest for a Black Friday game since 2011;
- the largest ever for the Georgia Tech-Georgia rivalry.
The massive audience for its regular-season finale also marked the third time this season that Georgia Tech drew an average of at least 3.46 million viewers (4.99 million vs. Florida State – Aug. 24 and 3.46 million vs. Miami (Fla.) – Nov. 9). Tech joins Miami as the only ACC teams with three average TV audiences of at least 3.46 million viewers in 2024.
Another large TV audience is likely on tap for Georgia Tech (7-5, 5-3 ACC) when it plays in a bowl game for the second-straight year. The Yellow Jackets will learn their bowl destination and opponent on Sunday.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
