We knew this was likely to happen when it was announced that the Colorado Buffaloes double-overtime thriller against the Colorado State Rams in Week 3 garnered 9.3 million viewers, the most watched game in ESPN late-night history.
It should come as no surprise that the showdown between the No. 10 Oregon Ducks and No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes got a bigger number than that in a primetime window on Saturday, being aired on ABC.
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It was announced on Tuesday that the Ducks saw 10.03 million viewers for their 42-6 blowout over Deion Sanders and the Buffs, which is among the most-viewed games in Oregon history.
According to Sports Media Watch, the UO vs. CU game averaged a 5.2 rating and 10.03 million viewers on ABC, marking the largest Nielsen-measured audience of the season. In comparison, the night game of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame averaged a 5.1 rating and 9.98 million viewers.
The Ducks took advantage of the elevated stage, as well, racking up 522 total yards of offense and holding the Buffs —who had the No. 15 scoring offense going into the day — to zero points until the second-string defense gave up a TD with 2 minutes left in the game. Bo Nix looked as good as ever, and the Ducks’ defense cobbled together 7 sacks on the day.
Will this be what Oregon needed to bump up in the national landscape? We’ll see. It’s clear, though, that they couldn’t have done much more with the opportunity.
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