Primed by Deion Sanders and Colorado, college football ratings continue to soar

College football continues to deliver massive television ratings in the 2023 season, and Deion Sanders and Colorado have played a major role.

ESPN announced Tuesday that Saturday’s Colorado vs. Oregon game on ABC drew 10.4 million viewers with a peak audience of 12.6 million. Not only was it the most-watched game of the 2023 season thus far, it also was the most-viewed Pac-12 Conference game since 2006.

And that viewership came even with the game quickly becoming a blowout. Colorado started the season 3-0 with a few dramatic victories in Sanders’ first season in charge. But that changed in CU’s Pac-12 opener. Oregon dominated the game, jumping out to a 35-0 halftime lead before eventually winning 42-6.

According to Sports Media Watch, Colorado has played in four of the top seven most-viewed games of the season. The dramatic double-overtime win over Colorado State in Week 3 had 9.3 million viewers even with the game ending after 2 a.m. ET. Colorado’s Week 2 home win over Nebraska drew 8.73 million viewers for Fox, while the debut of Colorado’s Sanders era at TCU in Week 1 attracted 7.26 million viewers.

Will those numbers continue even after the blowout loss that dropped Colorado out of the Top 25? The Buffs are set to host No. 8 USC on Saturday in another 10 a.m. local time kickoff for Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” window. USC is another big brand and has the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and projected No. 1 NFL draft pick, Caleb Williams, at quarterback.

Colorado is a three-touchdown underdog again, but don’t be surprised if Coach Prime continues to attract massive viewership.

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame draws huge number for NBC

Saturday night’s showdown between Ohio State and Notre Dame drew a huge audience for NBC.

The game came down to the wire with Ohio State scoring in the final seconds to pull out a dramatic 17-14 victory. The matchup attracted 9.98 million viewers to NBC and a total of 10.6 million viewers if you include digital platforms Peacock and NBC Sports Digital.

According to NBC, the broadcast peaked at 14.2 million viewers between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. ET as Ohio State was on its winning touchdown drive. It ended up being the second-most watched regular season game ever on NBC, trailing only the No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Florida State showdown from Nov. 13, 1993. That game drew 22 million viewers, per NBC.

With those figures, the Colorado-Oregon and Ohio State-Notre Dame games are now the two most-watched college football games of the season. And according to ESPN’s Flora Kelly, Saturday’s loaded slate marked one of the highest-rated college football Saturdays ever.