RotoWire.com used follower counts from Instagram and X to create a social media hype power ranking system for college football teams' official accounts. We ranked teams based on percentage growth week-over-week on the platforms, following their previous game.
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Social Media Power Rankings
Rank | Team | Social Media Growth |
1 |
| 4.245% |
2 |
| 1.931% |
3 |
| 1.570% |
4 |
| 1.561% |
5 |
| 0.626% |
6 |
| 0.617% |
T7 |
| 0.596% |
T7 |
| 0.596% |
9 |
| 0.576% |
10 |
| 0.478% |
11 |
| 0.419% |
12 |
| 0.414% |
13 |
| 0.412% |
14 |
| 0.381% |
15 |
| 0.369% |
Texas Longhorns (↑15) 
Indiana Hoosiers (↓1) 
BYU Cougars (-) 
Vanderbilt Commodores (↓2) 
Texas A&M Aggies (↓1) 
Virginia Cavaliers (↑6) 
Houston Cougars (↑43) 
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (↓5) 
Northwestern Wildcats (↓4) 
SMU Mustangs (↑5) 
TCU Horned Frogs (↑14) 
Cincinnati Bearcats (↑39) 
Louisville Cardinals (↑4) 
Texas Tech Red Raiders (↓6) 
Arizona State Sun Devils (↓6) Also check out and compare college football odds for upcoming Week 10 games.
Top Power Four Social Media Teams of Week 9
The top college football team through Week 9 is the Fighting Arch Mannings of Texas, who won another nail-bitter in Starkville against Mississippi State, 45-38, marking UT's second straight overtime victory.
Overall, the Longhorns gained 4.245% more social media followers this week, jumping 15 spots nationally, with Steve Sarkisian's bunch ranking ahead of Curt Cignetti's Indiana Hoosiers, who gained 1.931% more followers after tearing through UCLA at home, 56-6.
Outside of Austin and Bloomington, the top Power Four teams online were the BYU Cougars (+1.570%) and the Vanderbilt Commodores (+1.561%), while the Texas A&M Aggies were fifth overall, gaining 0.626% more followers this week to finish just ahead of the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC (+0.617%).
Who Else Made the Cut?
Outside of those six, the top teams nationally when broken down by social media followers were the Houston Cougars and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who each increased their respective online following by 0.596% over the weekend, while the Northwestern Wildcats (+0.576%) and SMU Mustangs (+0.478%) rounded out the top 10 nationally.
After that, teams like TCU (+0.419%), Cincinnati (+0.414%), Louisville (+0.412%), Texas Tech (+0.381%) and Arizona State (+0.369%) rounded out the list of America's top Power Four football teams online, giving weight to the importance of being good on the field and on the Worldwide Web this fall.
Q&A
Q: Which college football team dominated social media growth this week?
A: Texas Longhorns dominated this week, jumping 15 spots to No. 1 with a 4.245% social growth — the highest of all programs.
Q: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?
A: Yes — Texas's leap of 15 spots to No. 1 stands out. The rest of the Top 5 were stable or slipped: Indiana (down 1) at No. 2, BYU (no change) at No. 3, Vanderbilt (down 2) at No. 4, and Texas A&M (down 1) at No. 5.
Q: What does this ranking reveal about the connection between the field and social media?
A: The numbers highlight how closely game-day results fuel online hype. Teams that score big wins or deliver poor performances often see a direct spike in engagement online. Social media is becoming a real-time scoreboard of fan enthusiasm – one where both traditional powerhouses and rising programs can grab the spotlight.
