ESPN drew 8.8 million viewers for the Alabama-Texas game, narrowly edging Fox's Colorado vs. Ne

date：2023-09-14 07:19:17 click：125times

Saturday night's Texas-Alabama game brought big ratings for ESPN and a win for Fox.

ESPN announced Tuesday thatthe Longhorns' 34-24 upset win over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosadrew about 8.8 million viewers (8.76 million to be exact) on ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN2's alternate broadcast, hosted by Pat McAfee, contributed 799,000 of those viewers, according to the network.

ESPN was able to hand the Longhorns their first non-conference home loss to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide since 2007 with a peak of 10.7 million viewers between 10:15 PM and 10:30 PM (ET), making the game "the best since 2015 regular season game" and the "most-watched ESPN Saturday game since 2014," he called it. [ESPN's ratings for the Texas-Alabama game barely surpassed Fox's "Big Noon Saturday" coverage of Colorado vs. Nebraska. The game was the most-watched Pac-12 regular season game ever for Fox and the 10th most-watched regular season college football game ever for the network.

Fox went all in on "Coach Prime" and Colorado, and it paid off. In Week 1, Sanders' debut brought in 7.26 million viewers as Colorado upset TCU in Fort Worth; Fox brought its "Big Noon Kickoff" programming to both Colorado games this season, returning to Boulder in Week 3 for Colorado State vs. Colorado College at 10:00 PM ( ET) on ESPN; ESPN's "College GameDay" will also be on site.

The most-watched game in college football this season was the Week 1 matchup between Florida State and LSU, which drew 9.17 million viewers for ESPN. The game was played on a Sunday night in an independent time slot, which gave it an even bigger audience ahead of the NFL season.

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - SEPTEMBER 09: Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns throws the ball while under pressure by Malachi Moore #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 09, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - SEPTEMBER 09: Malachi Moore #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide under pressure as the ball is Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns throws the ball under pressure from Malachi Moore #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

A peak into college football's future.

The massive ratings from these matchups provide a glimpse into the direction of college football after the most recent realignment. Texas and Oklahoma will be members of the SEC next season, and the UT-Alabama matchup will be played more regularly.

Colorado brings this big number to the Pac-12 in perhaps the last year of the conference's existence. Colorado moved to the Big 12in search of a more stable television deal with ESPN and Fox. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah State soon followed Cal to the Big 12 as Oregon and Washington State moved to the Big 10. Cal and Stanford then received invitations to join the ACC, leaving Oregon State and Washington State as the only remaining members of the Pac-12.

With more big brands integrated into the "Power 4" (for now), attractive TV matchup opportunities will come more frequently.

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