Oregon Ducks vs. Colorado Buffaloes Announced as Most-Viewed Game of the 2023 Season

Millions tuned in as the Ducks shined in the national spotlight.

Max Torres | Sep 26, 2023

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Oregon Ducks

Heading into last week, there was a lot of hype and attention around Oregon's week 4 game against Colorado.

Dan Lanning and Deion Sanders both had their teams at 3-0 and ABC gave them a prime time slot on national television for their Saturday showdown.

That all came to a boiling point on Saturday afternoon in a 42-6 win Oregon over the greatest story in college football: Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.

On Tuesday it was announced that No. 10 Oregon vs. No. 19 Colorado drew 10.03 million viewers and averaged a 5.2 rating, according to Sports Media Watch. That mark is good for the highest viewership of the 2023 season and is among the most-watched games in the history of Oregon football.

For comparison, that matchup between the Ducks and the Buffs drew more attention than the national game of the week: No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Notre Dame in South Bend--which averaged a rating of 5.1 and had 9.98 million viewers and aired at 4:30 pm PT.

With the entire country watching them, the Ducks put on a show, rattling off 42 points and 522 yards of total offense. The Ducks played their most complete game of the year, suffocating Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs' offense with seven sacks.

Oregon had more first downs than Colorado had total yards in the first half and the game was never close.

The huge win generated some recruiting momentum as well, as five-star defensive lineman Tony Cumberland announced his verbal commitment to the Ducks shortly after game.

Next up for Oregon is a roadtrip to Palo Alto, where they'll face the Stanford Cardinal.

Published Sep 26, 2023

MAX TORRES

Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.