Robert Griffin III throws shade at Paul Finebaum after Colorado Week 1 ratings revealed

Plenty of eyes were on Boulder Thursday night as Deion Sanders and Colorado kicked off the 2024 season. Nearly 4.8 million people tuned to ESPN as the Buffaloes held on for a 31-26 victory over North Dakota State, which was a 49% increase from last year’s Thursday opener.

In the lead-up to the game, Sanders called out Paul Finebaum about his thoughts on Colorado and said the Buffs must be “relevant” if he’s talking about them. Coach Prime made those comments on Robert Griffin III’s podcast, Outta Pocket, and the former Baylor star noted that after the ratings came out.

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“Apparently Colorado is relevant,” Griffin wrote on X, along with a side-by-side photo of himself with Finebaum.

Apparently Colorado is relevant. https://t.co/ZpicQVoESx pic.twitter.com/rUT3qisXNZ

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 30, 2024

Finebaum has been outspoken about Colorado ahead of Coach Prime’s second season as head coach. He called the idea of the Buffaloes winning a Big 12 championship “laughable” and called out Sanders’ decision not to take questions from a Denver Post columnist.

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Speaking Robert Griffin III’s new Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast, Sanders told Griffin’s wife, Grete, he doesn’t see how CU can be irrelevant if people are talking about him. When she joked Finebaum must be a fan, Sanders argued the Buffs must be “hot.”

“He’s talking about us,” Sanders said. “How can we be irrelevant and you’re talking about me? Every time I turn around, somebody’s sending me a quote that you’re talking about me. … The thing about a fan, you’ve got to understand. A fan only blows when you’re hot. A fan only blows when we’re hot. So we must be hot.

“I know what he’s doing, and I’m proud of him, that he’s smart enough to understand that this generation and this thought process and the way we communicate on sports, it’s different. And he’s a dying breed. So what does he have to do to stay and keep up with this change? ‘Oh, I’ve got to go find that big bad wolf and talk about it.’ So now, I keep my relevancy. It’s cool. But I’m not gonna help you. I’m not gonna add to you. I’m not even gonna respond because that’s what you want. Yeah, you just want me to respond. I don’t do that. I’m not gonna help you come up.”

Colorado draws big viewership for opener vs. NDSU

Thursday night got Year 2 of Coach Prime’s tenure underway, and it came down to the final possession. Ultimately, Colorado came away with the win over North Dakota State – and it was a big night for ESPN in its Week 1 opener.

Colorado’s thrilling victory averaged 4.8 million viewers, ESPN announced Friday night. That made it the most-watched Thursday opener since 2017 and saw a 49% increase from last year’s game in that slot between Florida and Utah, which averaged 3.19 million viewers.

Colorado got off to a fast start to the 2023 season with a 3-0 record, including a win over TCU in Week 1 that averaged 7.26 million viewers. The Week 2 win over Nebraska also brought in 8.73 million, and the Week 3 win over Colorado State – which ended in the early morning hours – averaged 9.3 million viewers.