The Colorado Buffaloes' homecoming game against Texas Tech drew an average of 2.51 million viewers on Fox, making it the 10th most-watched college football game of Week 5, according to Nielsen Big Data reported by On3.
The Oct. 3 broadcast gave Deion Sanders' program another nationally visible evening as Colorado suffered a 29-7 defeat that dropped the Buffaloes to 2-3 overall. Texas Tech improved to 5-0 after scoring 26 unanswered points in the second half.
Colorado earns top-10 TV audience
Colorado-Texas Tech finished approximately 50,000 viewers behind Washington-USC on NBC, which averaged 2.56 million. Both broadcasts began at 7:30 p.m. ET, placing them in direct competition for Saturday's primetime audience. Ohio State-Iowa led the week with 5.97 million viewers on CBS.
The
ranking measures audience but doesn't show how many viewers watched specifically because of Sanders, and an average audience number may not reflect how many stayed through the end of the game.
For Colorado, the broadcast again provided substantial national exposure, but unfortunately during a stretch that has left the team searching for answers on offense and increased criticism of Sanders.
NEW: Most-watched College Football games of Week 5📺https://t.co/6uhl95vi0X pic.twitter.com/0BhH6yKQ0Z
— On3 (@On3) October 6, 2026
Season opener attracted a larger audience
Colorado's Sept. 3 victory over Georgia Tech drew an average of 3.7 million viewers on ESPN. That Thursday broadcast attracted approximately 1.19 million more viewers than Saturday's homecoming game.
Different opponents and broadcast times may limit what we can conclude from that comparison, especially given Colorado's growing losing streak.
The latest number nevertheless gives the Buffaloes another sizable audience to build upon. Their next opportunity comes against Utah on Oct. 17 at Folsom Field.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado vs. Texas Tech ranked among most-watched Week 5 games
