The Florida Gators have been putrid at times on the football field this season. Florida is 3-4 overall, 2-2 in SEC play, and Billy Gonzales has replaced Billy Napier.
But TV numbers released from Nielsen paint a picture and serve as a reminder of why Florida is in a better long-term position than some of its closest rivals.
Florida is among the top ten most-watched teams in America
The Gators came in as the 9th most-watched team in all of college football, with an average of 5.14 million viewers per game watching on TV.
Now, of course, there are a couple of caveats as to why Florida has such high viewership despite being 3-4. They have benefited from having zero games at noon and have had multiple games on ABC, which is always going to drive a higher audience than ESPN.
Throw in marquee opponents this season like LSU and Texas, both of whom also made the top ten, and there have been plenty of reasons to watch Florida this season.
In fact, the SEC as a whole has nine of the top ten spots, with Ohio State being the lone team from outside the conference to crack the top ten.
Conference matters
Being on TV hasn't led to wins this season, but it is a massive selling point to any prospective head coach as well as prospective recruits to help build the program back up.
Schools like Miami and FSU are practically begging for viewers on the CW. Penn State and the rest of the Big Ten keep getting saddled with the Big Noon Kickoff.
It's the equivalent of the Jurassic Park meme, where these schools outside the SEC are going, "Hey guys, I'm winning, look at me."
Apparently, nobody cares.
As Florida looks to build up once again, there is value and prestige in being a brand where the logo holds weight.
And it's also why Florida shouldn't look to lend a helping hand to FSU or Miami anytime soon to join the SEC.