It was football night in America last night,  as far as the prime time ratings were concerned, with gridiron shows winning every half-hour. Admittedly, however, it won  against repeats of favorite shows--like Desperate Housewives--that might have been expected to win otherwise.

Fox won the night with a 5.1 rating/12 share in the 18-49 demo on the strength of a huge number for its overrun of its NFL coverage. The coverage scored a 8.7/24 from 7:00-7:30  and then posting strong numbers for its special on the selection of the college bowl contenders at about 7:30-8:30.

It then passed the ball to NBC, which won the demo from 8:30 through 11 with its NFL game, averaging a 4.2/10 for second place on the night.

ABC, the usual winner of the night, was a conditional third with a 3.5/8, just edging out CBS at a 3.4/8, close enough to hold off picking until the national Nielsen numbers come out later in the day.

If ABC's lead holds, it will have beaten an all-new CBS lineup with an all-repeat lineup of its own thanks primarily to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's repeat beating a new Amazing Race and Housewives redux topping a still warm Cold Case.

The CW was in fifth with a 1.2/3.