With the bowl season now underway, here is a look back at the regular season’s most-watched games.

Alabama and Florida State accounted for nine of the ten highest rated and most-watched college football telecasts during the regular season (the full list of college football ratings is available on Sports Media Watch). FSU’s October 18 win over Notre Dame was the season’s highest rated game (7.9), while the Auburn/Alabama Iron Bowl on November 29 was the most-watched (13.5M). Rounding out the rest of the top ten were Alabama’s games against Missouri (7.8, 12.8M), Mississippi State (6.4, 10.3M), LSU (5.3, 9.1M) and Florida (5.1, 7.9M), and FSU’s games against Georgia Tech (6.2, 10.1M), Miami (5.4, 8.7M), and Clemson (4.5, 7.3M).

The only game in the top ten that did not involve either team was Michigan/Ohio State on November 29, which drew a 4.9 and 8.2 million.

Broadening out to a so-called Top 25, the SEC was far and away the most dominant conference. SEC games accounted for 12 of the season's 25 most-watched telecasts — more than any other conference. The ACC took up six spots on the list (all involving Florida State), and the Big Ten five (not including a regional window that featured West Virginia/Alabama in most markets).

The playoff teams — Alabama, FSU, Ohio State and Oregon — accounted for 19 of the Top 25. Of the six games that did not involve an eventual playoff team, four were SEC conference matchups, and the remaining two were USC/Stanford in September (4.1, 6.5M) and Army/Navy last weekend (4.1, 6.3M).

TCU and Baylor, which were controversially left out of the playoff mix, did not have an appearance in the Top 25. TCU’s top game of the season was their win against Iowa State on December 6 (2.8, 4.1M), which ranked 49th. Baylor’s top game was a regionalized game against Texas Tech on November 29 (2.4, 4.0M), which ranked 52nd.

Top 25 College Football Games of the Season, Ranked by Viewership

— #1: SEC: Auburn/Alabama, Nov. 29, ESPN (7.4, 13.5M)

— #2: Ind./ACC: Notre Dame/FSU, Oct. 18, ABC (7.9, 13.3M)

— #3: SEC: Alabama/Missouri, Dec. 6, CBS (7.8, 12.8M)

— #4: SEC: Mississippi St./Alabama, Nov. 15, CBS (6.4, 10.3M)

— #5: ACC: Georgia Tech/FSU, Dec. 6, ABC (6.2, 10.1M)

— #6: SEC: Alabama/LSU, Nov. 8, CBS (5.3, 9.1M)

— #7: ACC: FSU/Miami, Nov. 15, ABC (5.4, 8.7M)

— #8: B1G: Michigan/Ohio St., Nov. 29, ABC (4.9, 8.2M)

— #9: SEC: Florida/Alabama, Sept. 20, CBS (5.1, 7.9M)

— #10: ACC: Clemson/FSU, Sept. 20, ABC (4.5, 7.3M)

— #11: SEC: Texas A&M/Auburn, Nov. 8, CBS (4.4, 7.2M)

— #12: B1G: Ohio St./Michigan St., Nov. 8, ABC (3.9, 6.8M)

— #13: SEC: Georgia/South Carolina, Sept. 13, CBS (4.1, 6.8M)

— #14: P12: USC/Stanford, Sept. 6, ABC (4.1, 6.5M)

— #15: SEC: W. Virginia/Alabama in 92 pct. of markets, Aug. 30, ABC (4.0, 6.4M)

— #16: Ind.: Army/Navy, Dec. 13, CBS (4.1, 6.3M)

— #17: B1G: Wisconsin/Ohio State, Dec. 6, FOX (3.5, 6.1M)

— #18: ACC/B12: FSU/Oklahoma St., Aug. 30, ABC (3.8, 6.0M)

— #19: P12: Arizona/Oregon, Dec. 5, FOX (3.7, 6.0M)

— #20: SEC: Auburn/Mississippi St., Oct. 11, CBS (3.8, 6.0M)

— #21: B1G/P12: Michigan St./Oregon, Sept. 6, FOX (3.5, 6.0M)

— #22: SEC/ACC: Florida/FSU, Nov. 29, ESPN (3.5, 6.0M)

— #23: SEC: Alabama/Mississippi, Oct. 4, CBS (3.7, 5.9M)

— #24: SEC: Auburn/Mississippi, Nov. 1, CBS (3.4, 5.8M)

— #25: B1G: Ohio St./Minnesota, Nov. 15, ABC (3.7, 5.7M)

Paulsen is the founder of Sports Media Watch and a contributor for Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @Paulsen_SMW.