Colorado vs. North Dakota State averages 4.8 million viewers in ESPN Week 1 opener

Last season, Colorado led the TV ratings charge in college football. The Buffaloes played in three of the most-watched games in 2023 as the Deion Sanders Era got underway.

Thursday night got Year 2 of Coach Prime’s tenure underway, and it came down to the final possession. Ultimately, Colorado came away with the win over North Dakota State – and it was a big night for ESPN in its Week 1 opener.

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Colorado’s thrilling victory averaged 4.8 million viewers, ESPN announced Friday night. That made it the most-watched Thursday opener since 2017 and saw a 49% increase from last year’s game in that slot between Florida and Utah, which averaged 3.19 million viewers.

The Battle of the Buffs & Bison becomes @ESPNCFB's best Thursday opener since 2017 🏈 pic.twitter.com/wQQiNo9gsL

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 30, 2024

Colorado got off to a fast start to the 2023 season with a 3-0 record, including a win over TCU in Week 1 that averaged 7.26 million viewers. The Week 2 win over Nebraska also brought in 8.73 million, and the Week 3 win over Colorado State – which ended in the early morning hours – averaged 9.3 million viewers.

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The Buffaloes’ most-watched game of the year came in their first loss, though. The game against Oregon was the seventh most-watched game of the 2023 season as 10.03 million people tuned in for the Ducks’ resounding victory. CU finished 4-8 in Sanders’ first year at the helm.

All told, Colorado averaged 8.83 million viewers through the first four weeks of the season. While Thursday night’s opener against North Dakota State was a bit of a drop off, it was still a strong showing considering the game went directly against Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz’s interview on CNN.

Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter shine in Colorado opener

The Colorado offense was the story of the night as Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter put on a show. The duo connected for three touchdowns – including a highlight-reel catch from Hunter on the last one – as CU came away with the 31-26 victory.

Sanders put up huge numbers, totaling 445 yards and four touchdowns. Hunter had 132 yards to go with his three trips to the end zone, and Jimmy Horn Jr. led all Colorado players with 198 receiving yards. The Buffaloes totaled 504 yards of offense.

It wasn’t easy, though. North Dakota State took a lead into the locker room at halftime as the Colorado defense struggled mightily in the first half. But the Buffaloes got some big plays to stop Cam Miller and the Bison to come away with the victory and avoid the upset.

As Deion Sanders’ second year gets underway, Hunter said the Buffs have “hope” following the grind-it-out victory. He knows there’s room to improve, though.

“It gave us a lot of hope,” Hunter told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter. “We know we’ve got to keep going in, keep watching film. It got the guys to know that we’ve got a good team right here. We’ve got to get the plan, we’ve got to get our eyes in the right spot. That’s how they got a lot of touchdowns tonight. We didn’t have our eyes in the right spot, we didn’t read our keys.

“So we know we’ve got to get back in there and go to work. Coach is probably not finna let us off tomorrow. We’re finna come in here and work.”