Fans Stunned By TV Ratings For Colorado vs. Colorado State Game
BOULDER, COLORADO - APRIL 22: Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes watches as his team warms up prior to their spring game at Folsom Field on April 22, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Colorado football clearly has captured everyone's attention.
The Buffaloes improved to 3-0 when rallying to defeat Colorado State on Saturday night. Although the game started after 10 a.m ET., many viewers stayed up to watch Shedeur Sanders lead a 98-yard touchdown drive and spark a 43-35 victory at Folsom Field.
According to ESPN, Colorado vs. Colorado State was the fifth most-watched game in network history. The matchup drew an average of 9.3 viewers, peaking at 11.1 million around 11 p.m. ET.
Furthermore, the contest set a ratings record for the most viewed game in a late primetime window and is the most streamed regular-season college game of all time.
Onlookers responded to the astounding amount of eyeballs fixated on Deion Sanders' team.
"This is an insane number for a game that ended after 2 a.m. ET," Sportico's Jacob Feldman stated.
"Game kicked at 10:20 p.m. ET. Why I say Coach Prime doesn't need the SEC or Big Ten," Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports said. "Every game is a big game, just outranked them all against a Mountain West opponent."
"Anytime Coach Prime plays is obviously now PrimeTime," ESPN's Chris LaPlaca wrote. "Big number!"
"Two teams that won four games combined last year did this," ESPN's Myron Medcalf noted. "It really doesn't matter what anyone thinks of Deion. This is unlike anything we've seen in college sports."
"This is sheer insanity," Fox Sports Radio's Aaron Torres declared. "9.3 million people watched a 10 p.m. kickoff between Colorado State and Colorado. People can get mad at the media for constantly talking about Deion and Colorado - but you care, whether you want to admit it or not."
After opening the seasons with wins over TCU and Nebraska, Colorado became quickly the epicenter of college football.
ESPN sent College GameDay to Boulder, which drew celebrities such as The Rock. Even against an opponent that hasn't won more than four games in a season since 2017, fans tuned in to see if Coach Prime can sustain Colorado's stellar start.
Instead of witnessing a blowout, fans saw the heavily favored Buffaloes enter the fourth quarter down 21-14. It appears many viewers were too invested by that point to go to bed.
Based on these numbers, ABC could draw massive ratings when Colorado plays No. 10 Oregon this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
