ESPN is forced to apologize after accidentally airing a woman flashing her breast during their broadcast of the Sugar Bowl: 'We regret that this happened'

ESPN was forced to issue an apology on New Year's Day after accidentally airing a woman flashing her breast during its live broadcast of the Sugar Bowl.

The annual college football bowl game in New Orleans was contested between Texas and Washington, with the Huskies prevailing 37-31 at the Superdome to advance to the national title showpiece.

Yet during their victory on Monday night, broadcasters ESPN was left red-faced after accidentally giving air time to a woman who was seen flashing her right breast on a nearby street.

During a commercial break, the network opted to screen a shot of the famed Bourbon Street alongside advertisements in the bottom-left corner of the telecast, before their cameras caught the woman flashing to someone on a balcony above.

The shocking moment lasted for only a couple of seconds as the woman in question exposed herself seemingly to obtain beads from an onlooker above.

Beads are traditionally thrown down to spectators lining the streets as part of the Mardi Gras carnival, with women flashing to invite throws believed to be most common in New Orleans' French Quarter.

'We regret that this happened and apologize that the video aired in the telecast,' ESPN’s Bill Hofheimer said in a statement to The Associated Press.

It is unclear whether the footage was captured live or pre-recorded and then aired during Monday's game.

On the night, Washington set up a national title showdown with Michigan by holding on for a 37-31 victory over Texas, which goes down next Monday in Houston.

The second-ranked Huskies (14-0) snapped a six-year CFP drought for the Pac-12, winning the conference in its most entertaining and competitive season in years. The Huskies are just the second Pac-12 team to reach the championship game, and first since Oregon lost the first to Ohio State after the 2014 season.

The last Pac-12 team to win a national title was Southern California in 2004.

Washington's triumph also moved Michael Penix Jr's remarkable comeback story one victory away from a perfect ending.

Penix passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns as the Huskies advanced to the national title game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and the beleaguered Pac-12 a chance to go out a champion.