Florida State’s Week 0 meeting with New Mexico State didn’t turn into a classic on the field, but it did carve out a place in television history.
The game in Tallahassee drew the largest sports broadcast audience ever for The CW Network, with New Mexico State at Florida State reaching a peak of 2.4 million total viewers and averaging 1.96 million, according to The CW Network and Nielsen Panel + Big Data. For a matchup that was expected to tilt heavily toward the Seminoles, the numbers told a different story: plenty of people wanted to see Florida State, even in a non-conference opener.
That audience spike came as Mike Norvell enters his seventh season leading the program. Florida State didn’t exactly look dominant, but New Mexico State gave the Seminoles enough resistance to keep the game from turning into the one-sided script many expected.
The bigger story, though, may be what the ratings say about the Florida State brand itself.
The Seminoles’ record-setting TV draw arrived after their lawsuit against the ACC, filed in December of 2023, when Florida State claimed the conference had been breaching the terms of the contract. The ACC and Florida State later agreed to drop the lawsuits against each other, but that still doesn’t settle the larger question of where the relationship goes from here.
The viewership figure suggests Florida State still carries real weight, no matter what has happened recently on the field. Even after an ugly end to the 2025 season and another losing record the year before, the Seminoles pulled in a massive audience for a non-conference game. That kind of number only reinforces the idea that the program’s pull remains intact, and that the ACC has every reason to pay attention.
For now, Florida State may not be sitting at the top of the sport. But the Week 0 ratings showed the fan base is still showing up, and the brand is still powerful enough to set a record.
In Other News...
Florida State Already Faces Pressure To Hold Onto A Key Commit
Florida States 2027 class is already feeling the strain of an uncertain future, and ZaKari Johnson has become the latest reminder of how quickly a commitment can wobble. The 4-star athlete, originally pledged to the Seminoles, now appears to have reopened his recruitment, with Texas A&M bringing him in for a visit as it continues to push hard for one of the more versatile prospects on Florida States board.
Johnsons value goes beyond one position, since he projects as both a wide receiver and defensive back, the kind of athlete programs covet when they are trying to build around talent and flexibility. For Florida State, the concern is not just losing a recruit, but having to sell stability at a time when coaching questions and financial realities make it harder to stand toe-to-toe with a resource-heavy suitor like Texas A&M. [Read more 🡒]
Ousmane Kromah Just Gave FSU A New ACC Reason For Hope
Ousmane Kromahs breakthrough against New Mexico State gave Florida State something it has been looking for in the backfield: a young runner who can tilt a game and hint at more to come. Kromah rushed for a career-high 115 yards and scored his first collegiate touchdown, a sharp step forward from what he managed in his freshman season and a welcome sign for a Seminoles offense still trying to sort out its identity.
The performance also showed up in the numbers that often catch evaluators attention, as Kromah earned the highest Pro Football Focus grade among running backs that week. For Florida State, the bigger takeaway may be the long view, since running backs coach Kam Martin has already pointed to Kromahs significant potential, leaving the Seminoles with a fresh reason to think the room could be better than it looked not long ago. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Running Backs Think Last Week Was Only The Beginning
Kam Martin liked what he saw from Sam Singleton Jr. after last weeks performance, but the Florida State running backs coach was quick to frame it as a step rather than a finish line. The Seminoles backfield has shown enough to draw attention, and Martins message was clear: the group needs to keep stacking good work if it wants to keep turning flashes into something more dependable.
There is also a competitive edge still hanging over the room, especially after the kind of chances that can leave a player wanting more. Ousmane Kromah came away from the New Mexico State game feeling there was more production available, and that sort of standard tends to travel well in a position group trying to raise its ceiling. For Florida State, the next stretch will show whether last week was a launch point or just a promising opening act. [Read more 🡒]