Stanford's Matchup With Deion Sanders and Colorado Brings In Record Viewership

People likely came for the Deion Sanders experience but witnessed a historical win by Stanford

On Friday night in a timeslot that Deion Sanders made it known he didn't appreciate, Colorado and Stanford ended up drawing ESPN's biggest audience for a Friday game since 2018. 

College football world saw Stanford pop off and was introduced to the Troy Taylor era🌲🌲🌲 https://t.co/Xshjnwsq0J

— Inside The Stanford Cardinal (@InsideStanford) October 17, 2023

The game brought in 3.3 million viewers, and allowed for an onslaught of new viewership to witness what Troy Taylor and company are looking to accomplish in Palo Alto. 

The two teams faced off for the last time as Pac-12 foes, and the game ended up being one of the most entertaining of the year in the second half. The first half saw Colorado blow the doors off of Stanford, going up 29-0. However, after advertising merchandise during the break, Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs came out as flat as could be.

Stanford ramped up the pressure on defense, while the offense picked apart Travis Hunter and the secondary. The Cardinal went on to win the game 46-43, and left Deion Sanders "truly disturbed" and questioning his team's love for the game.

The win for Stanford marked Taylor's first Pac-12 win, and also ended a four-game losing streak. As for Colorado, the game handed them their third loss in four games, and is making reaching a bowl game in year one of the Deion Sanders era look much more difficult.