How many people watched Texas at Alabama? ESPN unveils record-shattering number

ESPN's broadast of Texas vs. Alabama from Bryant-Denny Stadium narrowly beat Fox's Nebraska vs. Colorado from Folsom Field on Saturday. ESPN's broadcast brought in 8.8 million viewers compared to the 8.73 million of the Fox game.

The alternative stream on ESPN2 hosted by Pat McAfee brought in 799,000 viewers. All these numbers come from a report by Yahoo Sports, with ESPN claiming the viewership peaked at 10.7 million people between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. EST.

ESPN declared the broadcast its “best regular season game since 2015” and its “most-viewed ESPN Saturday game since 2014.” The big noon game for Fox was an equally resounding success, with the Deion Sanders home debut being the most-watched Pac-12 game in the network's history and their 10th most-watched college football game.

The most watched game of Week 1 was LSU vs. Florida State, which brought in 9.17 million viewers for ESPN. The game benefited from being held on a Sunday, and one week ahead of the start of the NFL regular season.

Texas Longhorns' victory over Alabama

Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns handed the Alabama Crimson Tide its first double-digit loss in Tuscaloosa of the Nick Saban era with a 34-24 win on Saturday.

In the prime-time game of Week 2, Alabama committed important mistakes that led to unnecessary penalties. The 10 penalties cost Bama 90 yards and two touchdown plays that would have flipped the game at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third. The Bama O-line looked frail at times, offering little protection to quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers looked like a man on a mission as he calmly guided No. 11 Texas with 349 yards and three touchdown passes. No. 3 Alabama only led for two minutes between the third and fourth quarters. The fourth quarter was all Texas, with the Longhorns outscoring Bama 21-7.

The Longhorns were rewarded with a No. 4 ranking in the Week 3 AP Poll, and the Crimson Tide dropped to No. 10.

In Week 3, Alabama faces South Florida, and Texas goes up against Wyoming.