College football: Colorado's loss to USC was the most-watched game of Week 5
The game had nearly 3 million fewer viewers' than Colorado's loss to Oregon, however
Colorado was once again the top television draw during Week 5.
The Buffaloes’ 48-41 loss to No. 8 USC drew over 7.2 million viewers on Saturday and was the most-watched game of the weekend, according to Sports Media Watch.
While Colorado continues to be college football’s most-watched team, the audience was a sign that viewers are becoming less enchanted with the Buffaloes. USC’s win was the least-watched Colorado game of the season. That’s slightly surprising; the game featured one of the most prestigious programs visiting Boulder and the defending Heisman winner and most recognizable player in college football in Trojans QB Caleb Williams.
The most-watched Colorado game came in Week 4 as over 10 million people watched the Buffaloes get blown out by Oregon. Colorado looked on track for another blowout loss at halftime of the USC game, but fought back from a 34-7 halftime deficit to be in position to recover an onside kick with less than two minutes to go for a chance to tie or take the lead.
The lower viewership number also corresponds with the betting interest in the game. Colorado games had been getting more action than NFL games in recent weeks. That wasn’t the case last weekend and it wasn’t even the most-bet college football game. Oregon State’s win over Utah got more bets against the spread than Colorado’s game vs. USC.
The No. 2 game of Week 5 was Georgia’s 27-20 win at Auburn while Notre Dame’s last-minute win over Duke drew an average audience of over 5.3 million viewers.
It’s also a lock that Colorado’s game in Week 6 will easily be the least-watched Buffaloes game of the season. And the game won’t come close to having 7 million viewers. Colorado’s matchup at Arizona State is being televised on the Pac-12 Network, a channel that infamously has been unable to get widespread distribution throughout the United States. Unless you’re in one of the lucky few households with access to the Pac-12 Network, you won’t be able to watch the game.
