Not unlike Caitlin Clark in women’s basketball, Deion Sanders continues to make Colorado football a bigger ratings draw than would have been imaginable two years ago.
Thursday’s North Dakota State-Colorado college football game averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.76 million viewers on ESPN, marking the network’s most-watched game on the opening Thursday of the season since Ohio State-Indiana in 2017 (5.13M).
Across all networks, Colorado’s narrow win was the most-watched opening Thursday game since Ohio State-Minnesota on FOX two years ago.
Ratings and viewership increased 49% from Florida-Utah on ESPN last year, which coincided with the network going dark on Charter cable (1.7, 3.19M).
Prior to the Deion Sanders era, it is unlikely that a matchup of FCS North Dakota State and low-profile Colorado would have even been carried on Nielsen-rated television, but the team’s profile has grown considerably since his arrival a year ago.
It should be noted that last season, it took until October 13 against Stanford before a single Colorado game averaged fewer than seven million viewers — much less fever than five. Colorado’s opener last season against TCU, which aired in the marquee FOX “Big Noon Saturday” window, averaged 7.26 million.
North Dakota State-Colorado dominated the opening Thursday of the season, cruising past the weather-delayed North Carolina-Minnesota game on FOX — which drew a 1.1 and 1.83 million, the least-watched of the Thursday openers on FOX (four total).
In other action, BTN drew a 0.15 and 269,000 for Howard-Rutgers.
