In Oregon coach Dan Lanning's speech before Saturday's game against Colorado, he told his team, "They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins."
They certainly didn't have to fight for television viewers. Colorado-Oregon was the second-most watched game through the first four weeks of the regular season behind Notre Dame-Ohio State. Deion Sanders remains must-see TV, even when the Buffaloes lose and fall out of the AP Top 25.
Expect even larger ratings in Week 5. Colorado hosts No. 5 USC at 12 p.m. ET on the Fox Big Noon Kickoff game, and the quarterback matchup between reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and Shedeur Sanders will have crossover appeal for NFL fans considering both are projected to be first-round quarterbacks.
The "Prime Effect" is real. A look inside those television numbers heading into Week 5, and how Colorado has become the most-watched team in college football in 2023.
MORE: Week 5 picks against the spread for Top 25 games | Ranking all 133 FBS teams
How high were Colorado-Oregon TV ratings?
According to Sports Media Watch, Oregon's 42-6 victory against Colorado on ABC drew 10.03 million viewers and a 5.2 Nielsen rating. It was second on the season to Ohio State's 17-14 victory against Notre Dame, which drew a 5.1 and 9.98 million viewers on NBC and an additional 600,000 viewers on Peacock in the prime-time slot. The 10.6 million that watched Ohio State-Notre Dame matched last year's Week 1 matchup between the two teams.
Those topped the ratings for Colorado's Week 3 victory against Colorado State, which drew 9.3 million viewers with a Nielsen rating of 4.8.
Colorado has been in the noon ET window twice, the 3:30 p.m. window once and the late-night slot once. The ratings have been high every game in Sanders' first season.
Most watched college football games of 2023
Sports Media Watch tracks television ratings and viewers for college football games. Through three weeks, a total of 10 games have drawn five million viewers or more through four weeks.
All four of Colorado's games are in the top 10 on that list, and the audience has increased with each week.
Most watched college football games: Weeks 1-4
| RANK | GAME | WEEK | RATING | VIEWERS |
| 1 | Ohio State-Notre Dame | 4 | 5.1 | 10.6M |
| 2 | Colorado-Oregon | 4 | 5.2 | 10.0M |
| 3 | Colorado-Colorado State | 3 | 4.9 | 9.3M |
| 4 | Florida State-LSU | 1 | 4.7 | 9.2M |
| 5 | Texas-Alabama | 2 | 4.5 | 8.8M |
| 6 | Colorado-Nebraska | 2 | 4.8 | 8.8M |
| 7 | Colorado-TCU | 1 | 3.8 | 7.3M |
| 8 | Florida State-Clemson | 4 | 3.7 | 6.7M |
| 9 | South Carolina-Georgia | 3 | 2.8 | 5.4M |
| 10 | Tennessee-Florida | 3 | 2.7 | 5.3M |
Colorado has four of the top seven games in the Nielsen ratings, too. The Week 1 opener against TCU had a 3.8 Nielsen rating. That number increased to 4.8 against Nebraska in Week 2 and 4.9 against Colorado State in Week 3.
That also has had an impact on the sport at large. According to SN's Bill Trocchi, the last two weeks have had four Saturday games with at least 4.5 million viewers. How often did that happen in 2022?
Last CFB season, there was only one Saturday (Week 12) with 4 games of 4.5M+ viewers.
— Bill Trocchi (@billtrocchi) September 26, 2023
This season, Week 3 and Week 4 have both had 4 games of 4.5M+ viewers.
Will Colorado-USC draw higher TV ratings in Week 5?
Yes. The draw of Williams and Sanders is enough, though there might be a few viewers who tune out because Colorado is no longer undefeated.
The Trojans are 21.5-point favorites and this is the second top-10 opponent the Buffaloes will face. We believe this will be the most-watched Colorado game of the season because it's early and USC is involved. The draw of Sanders and Williams will be must-see television, especially if the Buffaloes can have a bounce-back performance at Folsom Field.
We stand by last week's prediction is that it will be the most-watched game in September, and it will be interesting to see where USC-Colorado ranks at the end of the season.
