The No. 5 Washington Huskies not only cemented themselves as the team to beat in the Pac-12 this year but seem primed for a potential College Football Playoff berth led by Heisman-hopeful quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
However, when it came time for networks with Pac-12 rights to select their games for Saturday, October 28, the undefeated Huskies and their game against the Stanford Cardinal got shuffled off to cable.
Meanwhile, Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes, who have lost three of their last four games since their meteoric start to the season, got the nod to be shown on ABC against the No. 24 UCLA Bruins.
On its face, that decision upset a lot of college football fans, who shared their frustrations on social media.
Wow this is great for college football and I'm very glad we've all decided to let TV ratings influence how we deliver and receive news about this sport https://t.co/iuApeI1hlt
— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) October 16, 2023
Top-5 team with the Heisman favorite gets buried on late-night FS1. This is why your conference is dying, folks. https://t.co/mqBuLVogPg
— Jon Benne (@LordBenne) October 16, 2023
Colorado still getting ABC prime time is such a joke. Oregon/Utah is probably a PAC 12 elimination game https://t.co/mNiUZG0jym
— Tucker Blankinship (@TuckerBlanc) October 16, 2023
On paper, it’s understandable why some people would be upset by the move. But there are a couple of factors to consider.
First, if you want to get mad at anyone, get mad at Fox. According to Pac-12 insider John Canzano, they had the first pick of all conference games that weekend and chose No. 9 Oregon vs. No. 14 Utah.
FOX had the first pick for these games, per source. https://t.co/yZNSAZcSVk
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) October 16, 2023
Second, while Washington may indeed be the team most worthy of a national showcase based on their play, there is no denying that, despite their struggles, The Primetime Effect is still impacting ratings for Colorado games. And until proven otherwise, TV networks are going to err on the side of the team they think will generate the most eyeballs.
"Only 3.3M viewers" was still double ESPN's Fri. night average coming in, despite kicking off at 10 pm ET, and a 1-4 opponent. https://t.co/8beVF9WEE6
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 16, 2023
Is it fair? Is it right? Do the Huskies deserve that network slot?
In the words of Unforgiven’s William Munny, “deserves got nothing to do with it.”
