I was curious to see how many people actually live in states represented by CFP participants over the last 4 years. Using 2016 estimates for state populations:

2014: Alabama 4.8 million, Ohio 11.6 million, Oregon 4.1 million, Florida 20.6 million = Total 41.1 million

2015: Alabama 4.8 million, South Carolina 5 million, Michigan 9.9 million, Oklahoma 3.9 million = 23.6 million

2016: Alabama 4.8 million, South Carolina 5 million, Ohio 11.6 million, Washington 7.3 million = 28.7 million

2017: Alabama 4.8 million, South Carolina 5 million, Georgia 10.3 million, Oklahoma 3.9 million = Total 24.0 million

Observations: No surprise 2014 was so heavily watched, given it was the first year as well as the high population numbers. Obviously, not everyone in a state watches or is even a fan of the particular team, but it's a decent metric for understanding the eyeballs that may watch these playoffs. Likewise, no shock that 2015 was so lowly rated.

2017 will be interesting in part because of the low numbers compared to last year or 2014, but also because 3 of the teams are from states that border each other, and Oklahoma is a pretty small state population wise. My guess is that a lot of people from the Midwest and Pacific coast will not tune in, leading to the lowest rated playoffs yet, but the fact it is on NYD may save it. Alabama/Clemson have monopolized 7 of the 16 playoff spots thus far, despite only representing less than 10 million people, and Clemson isn't even the most popular, largest school in South Carolina.