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Tennessee was a smash hit in every sense of the word on Saturday night in Norman.
The Volunteers smashed their way to a 25-15 victory over Oklahoma in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. And on Tuesday, it was revealed that Tennessee was a hit with viewers in the primetime showdown on ABC.
The game between ranked SEC teams drew 6.3 million viewers, making it the top-rated primetime game in Week 4.
The matchup was also the most-watched program of the day among 18- to 49-year-olds, 18- to 34-year-olds and, to prove how great for TV that Tennessee was on Saturday night, the Vols were the most-watched program of Saturday among female viewers.
https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/1838610295071138109
At its peak, the Tennessee-Oklahoma showcase game drew 7.5 million viewers.
Tennessee was rewarded for that big-time road victory that drew so many viewers, as the Volunteers moved up 1 spot in Sunday’s new AP Poll to No. 5.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma was punished for its poor performance in that primetime slot, as the Sooners fell 6 spots to No. 21 in the latest AP Poll.
The must-see TV Tennessee team has a bye this week before getting back into action in Week 6 with a trip to Arkansas.
The start time for the game in Fayetteville hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
