Colorado and Oregon’s showdown raked in the largest viewership of the 2023 season. According to Sports Media Watch, the Pac-12 exhibition landed in the top spot, pulling 10.03 million viewers.
The game managed to edge out the much-hyped battle between Notre Dame and Ohio State, which drew 9.98 million views. The outlet also reports that Deion Sanders‘ Colorado Buffaloes are responsible for four of the 10 most-viewed college football games in 2023.
Despite the record-breaking feat, the Colorado and Oregon game was a lopsided affair. Colorado appeared stiff on the gridiron as their star quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, couldn’t find his rhythm.
UO defenders sacked Sanders seven times — the most sacks by an Oregon defense since 2017. Deion’s son and star QB finished the game with 23 completions on 33 attempts for 159 yards. He also managed to sneak in a passing TD during the second half of the game.
Meanwhile, Oregon’s Bo Nix put on a Heisman award-winning performance. Nix completed 28 completions on 33 attempts for 276 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The senior Oregon QB also rushed for a TD in the game. The Buffaloes were demolished in the historically viewed game with a final score of 42-6.
Before their blowout loss to Oregon, CU made history a week prior. Colorado’s game with Colorado State was also one of the year’s most-watched NCAA Football games. Colorado and Colorado State’s rivalry game drew record-breaking viewership for ESPN.
According to the network, the game garnered 9.3 million viewers, making it the “most-watched late-night college football game ever” for ESPN.
Additionally, the game became the network’s fifth most-watched regular season game ever during any time slot. The same time slot averaged around 1.7 million viewers for the sports giant during the previous NCAA football season. The intense match-up kicked off a little after 10 p.m. ET and ended around 2:30 a.m. ET.
The Buffaloes struggled in the first two quarters but found their stride late in the 3rd quarter. The game went to two overtimes, with Colorado sealing the deal with an end-zone interception. Colorado defeated CSU 43-35.
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