Then-No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Texas football was a major hit in television viewership. The ESPN Press Room announced Tuesday that the matchup, which aired on ABC, averaged 9.7 million viewers with a peak of 12.9 million. It was the most-watched game of Week 4 and the top noon game on any network this season. Those numbers also made it the most-watched Saturday noon game on any ESPN network since 2016.
The game drew heightened attention well before Saturday arrived. ESPN’s College GameDay made its 13th all-time visit to Rocky Top. For the first time ever, the show spent its final hour inside Neyland Stadium in front of a packed crowd. Knoxville native Johnny Knoxville was the guest picker, and the show featured Edwin Spillman’s story, which is still available on YouTube.
That was the most-watched Week 4 episode of College GameDay ever and the fourth most-watched regular season episode of all-time. 2.8 million viewers were from Tennessee alone, and the final hour drew 3.7 million viewers.
There was also a visit from President Donald J. Trump. The announcement of his visit took everything to a different level, as fans were encouraged to enter Neyland Stadium early with the gates opening at 9 a.m. According to a Tennessee Athletics spokesperson, the visit went smoothly.
Tennessee and Texas went down to a last-second Hail Mary attempt by the Vols that fell incomplete and sealed the Longhorns’ 20-17 win. The Tennessee defense, however, had a great day and sacked Texas quarterback Arch Manning six times. Tyree Weathersby recorded 2.5 sacks, and defensive back Kayin Lee intercepted Manning. Qua Moss also returned a Texas punt for a 57-yard touchdown.
No. 17 Tennessee will host Auburn at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN with play-by-play announcer Bob Wischusen and analyst Louis Riddick on the call. Stormy Buonantony will provide the sideline report.
