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Texas’ upset of Alabama draws incredible audience on ESPN
By Keith Farner
Published:
Texas and Alabama naturally draw huge audiences on their own, so when they get together, television executives salivate.
As Texas delivered a historic upset of the Crimson Tide, ESPN reported that the game had a viewership of 8.8 million viewers on ESPN and ESPN2. That made it the most-watched game of the week across all networks, and it peaked at 10.7 million viewers between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Field Pass with Pat McAfee secured the most-watched McAfee altcast, and the top ESPN alternate cast since the 2018 College Football Playoff national championship.
? @TexasFootball ? @AlabamaFTBL delivers ?.? ??????? ??????? on ESPN & ESPN2
?Most-watched game of the week across all networks
?Field Pass with @PatMcAfeeShow on ESPN2 ➡️ most-watched McAfee altcast & top @ESPNCFB altcast since 2018 CFP Nat’l Champ pic.twitter.com/QLdEp28iS0
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 12, 2023
Alabama had its 21-game home winning streak snapped along with a 57-game regular-season streak against nonconference teams that dates to Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa, 2007.
Some big plays were made by Georgia transfer AD Mitchell, as he caught a 7-yard TD pass, and a 39-yard score in the 4th quarter. As a freshman 2 years ago, Mitchell’s 40-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter of the national championship game against the Tide gave Georgia the lead and the first of back-to-back titles.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
