The ‘Prime Effect’ isn’t dead: CU opener draws 3.7 million

Colorado's 14-13 surprising win at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3 averaged 3.7 million viewers

Sep 10, 2026, 4:23 PM

Watch: The CU Buffs should be FAVORED in their next 3 games | When will Coach Prime suffer his first loss? | 2 mins

Everyone in Colorado may feel a little less hype around Coach Prime and the Buffaloes this year, but an exciting game that came down to the wire on national television still drew a big audience for ESPN.

Colorado’s 14-13 surprising win at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3 averaged 3.7 million viewers, according to ESPN PR. That’s slightly less than last year’s CU-Georgia Tech matchup, which drew 3.74 million.

It was the most-watched weekday game of Week 1 and the second-most-watched Thursday season opener on ESPN in the last 10 years.

Given the preseason narrative, those numbers are actually encouraging.

Front Office Sports reported in August that the “Prime Effect” on television was fading fast. Colorado’s ESPN viewership had fallen 67% over three seasons — from an average of 6.1 million viewers per game in 2023, to 3.4 million in 2024, to just 2 million during last year’s 3-9 disaster. It tracks with how bad last season was especially as viewed against the Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter show before they went pro.

So pulling 3.7 million for a Thursday night opener with a redshirt freshman quarterback, no top-five draft picks on the roster and a 6.5-point spread working against them? That’s actually decent.

The number still sits well below the peak of the Coach Prime era. In September 2023, ABC pulled 10.03 million viewers for Colorado’s loss to Oregon — a number that topped a Notre Dame-Ohio State game on the same day.

Those days are probably gone for good as told by this week’s game being on ESPN+ while Ohio State against Texas will do a massive number.

But 3.7 million viewers for a Thursday game between two unranked teams is a real number. For context, Alabama’s noon window against East Carolina on ABC drew 3.8 million. The Buffaloes, on ESPN on a weeknight, were right there.

The audience also got rewarded with a finish worth sticking around for. Juju Lewis hit Charlie Williams with 37 seconds left for a score, and Boo Carter blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer to seal it.

If Colorado keeps winning — and keeps providing that kind of theater — the audience will grow again.