Even with a hurricane affecting several interested markets, the FSU/Miami rivalry still bounced back from last year’s low number.
Florida State/Miami earned a 3.2 overnight rating on the latest edition of ABC’s Saturday Night Football, up 19% from the same matchup last year (2.7) and up 39% from Michigan State/Nebraska in 2014 (2.3). That figure does not include Florida markets Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, which were affected by a hurricane.
FSU’s win ranked second for the weekend among college football games behind Tennessee/Texas A&M on CBS (4.0). Head-to-head, it topped Alabama/Arkansas on ESPN (2.4).
Notre Dame/N.C. State had a 2.7 overnight earlier in the day, down 29% from Texas/Oklahoma last year (3.8) but up 17% from Ohio State/Maryland in 2014 (2.3). Compared to this year’s Texas/Oklahoma game, which aired in the same window on Fox Sports 1, ABC won the head-to-head battle by 35% (2.7 to 2.0).
As was the case with FSU/Miami, Notre Dame/N.C. State was missing crucial local markets — in this case, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.
Sandwiched in the middle, regional action earned a 2.0 overnight — down 9% from last year (2.2) and down 13% from 2014 (2.3). The telecast included Virginia Tech/North Carolina, with local markets Charlotte, Raleigh and Norfolk, VA, missing from the data.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN)
