Deion Sanders took college football by storm when he decided to coach his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, at Jackson State. He quickly became one of the most polarizing personalities in all of sports when he was named as the head coach at Colorado.
However, it appears as though all of the initial excitement has faded.
The Buffaloes are quietly hanging around the College Football Playoff conversation at 5-2. Their quarterback could be a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft. Travis Hunter Jr. might win the Heisman Trophy.
Even though there is plenty of reason to keep watching Colorado play, it drew the smallest broadcast television audience of the Sanders thus far on Saturday. FOX drew an average of 2.02 million viewers for the game against Arizona. Only one of the Buffaloes’ games averaged fewer total viewers in the Deion era— a late Friday night matchup against Washington State on Fox Sports 1 last year.
To be fair, Alabama-Tennessee and Michigan-Illinois were on at the same time. The former drew 10.23 million, which was the most-watched afternoon game in nine years. The latter drew 3.01 million.
Interest in Deion Sanders and Colorado is down overall.
The Buffaloes’ blowout win over the Wildcats was down 34% from a game between Texas and Houston in the same window last year. Their first seven games of the 2024 season averaged 3.84 million viewers, which is down a staggering 49% from their first eight games of the 2023 season.
All of the buzz surrounding Deion Sanders brought College Gameday and Big Noon Kickoff to campus in the first three weeks of his first year at the helm. There was a palpable buzz in Boulder. That excitement was also shared by the rest of the country, including people who watched Colorado games out of spite.
This year does not have that same energy, and television ratings prove the fatigue is real.