The stakes were far lower than Alabama/Auburn two years ago or Michigan State/Michigan the week before, but Saturday’s classic between Florida State and Georgia Tech still moved the needle for ESPN2.
The FSU/Georgia Tech college football game drew a 1.4 overnight rating on ESPN2 Saturday night, up 56% from Missouri/Florida last year (0.9), up 17% from LSU/Mississippi in 2013 (1.2), and the network’s highest overnight of the season.
Though big for ESPN2, the game — won by the Yellow Jackets won on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown as time expired — trailed competing coverage of Ohio State/Rutgers on ABC (3.3), Utah/USC on FOX (2.4) and Texas A&M/Mississippi on ESPN (1.8).
Shifting to ESPN, the above-mentioned 1.8 for Mississippi’s blowout of the Aggies marked a 13% increase over Tennessee/Mississippi last year (1.6) and 39% jump from Arkansas/Alabama in 2013 (1.3). It was the top college football overnight of the day on cable, followed by a 1.6 for ESPN’s Washington/Stanford nightcap — up 45% from Stanford/Arizona State last year (1.1).
The afternoon games did not fare as well, with Iowa State/Baylor scoring a 1.2 overnight and Penn State/Maryland a 1.0 — down 56% and 29%, respectively, from Kansas State/Oklahoma (2.7) and Michigan State/Indiana (1.4) last year.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
