Where did the Virginia Tech and Florida State game rank in TV ratings?

File this under, nobody didn’t see that coming.

Last Saturday, the Virginia Tech football team traveled to Tallahassee to play fifth-ranked Florida State in a game that many thought was going to be a blowout (I picked the Hokies to lose 45-10, so count me in that group). In the end, the Seminoles won 39-17, but you might be surprised to see where the game ranked when it came to TV ratings for Week 6.

Virginia Tech/FSU game finished in the top 10 TV rankings

Virginia Tech’s setback, which aired on ABC, was the seventh-most-watched game Saturday according to Sports Media Watch with 3.02 million viewers. There are plenty of reasons as to why this is surprising.

The first is the talent gap between the teams. The Hokies have struggled this season, dropping non-conference games to Purdue, Rutgers, and Marshall, while collecting wins over Old Dominion and Pittsburgh. Tech’s offensive struggles are well known from injuries to a lack of running game to turning to transfer quarterback Kyron Drones after starter Grant Wells was injured in the second game against Purdue.

On the other side, Florida State was coming off a bye and looking to cement their spot for a College Football Playoff spot. Their last game (Sept. 23) was an overtime win over Clemson on the road and they didn’t look like a team that had not played a snap in two weeks.

They scored a touchdown on their first three possessions and jumped out to a 22-0 lead before the Hokies clawed back to make it a 22-17 game early in the third quarter on Bhayshul Tuten’s second touchdown of the game, a 99-yard kickoff return. FSU responded with a pair of touchdowns and a field goal to pull away for the 22-point win.

Did the Seminoles fall into a lull after taking a huge lead in the first quarter? Maybe, but to the Hokies credit, they hung around and made a game of it, somewhat, in the second half.