RotoWire.com, where you can find top college football betting promos, used follower counts from Instagram and X to create a social media hype power ranking system for Division 1 non-Power 4 college football teams' official accounts. We ranked teams based on percentage growth week-over-week on the platforms, following their previous game.
Social Media Power Rankings
Rank | Team | Social Media Growth |
1 |
| 2.210% |
2 |
| 1.056% |
3 |
| 0.732% |
4 |
| 0.711% |
5 |
| 0.593% |
6 |
| 0.529% |
7 |
| 0.526% |
8 |
| 0.495% |
9 |
| 0.492% |
10 |
| 0.489% |
11 |
| 0.484% |
12 |
| 0.466% |
13 |
| 0.396% |
14 |
| 0.392% |
15 |
| 0.391% |
New Mexico Lobos (↑4) 
North Texas Mean Green (-) 
Old Dominion Monarchs (↑39) 
Kennesaw State Owls (↑9) 
Memphis Tigers (↑33) 
Toledo Rockets (-) 
New Mexico State Aggies (↑4) 
Central Michigan Chippewas (↓4) 
Navy Midshipmen (↑50) 
Western Michigan Broncos (↑6) 
Ohio Bobcats (↑1) 
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (↓11) 
Missouri State Bears (↓6) 
Eastern Michigan Eagles (↑17) 
Ball State Cardinals (↑17) Be sure to check out our list of the best sports betting apps so you can easily compare operators.
Which Non-P5 Teams Gained The Most Ground?
Despite finding themselves on the wrong end of a 35-28 Friday night loss to San José State, the New Mexico Lobos won over the hearts and minds of Americans this weekend, with the largest weekly jump in social media following among non-Power Four members, at 2.210%.
The now-3-2 Lobos' loss to SJSU might have knocked them down a peg, bowl wise, though that seven-point road loss still left them with enough social media clout to beat out the other non-Power Four leaders, such as North Texas (+1.056%), Old Dominion (+0.732%), Kennesaw State (+0.711%) and Memphis (+0.593%).
Of the latter four teams, the Monarchs pulled off the largest margin of victory on Saturday, thrashing Coastal Carolina, 47-7, to move to 4-1 for the year, while Memphis shellacked Tulsa, 45-7 and ODU and Kennesaw State had the week off.
Throw in Toledo (+0.529%), New Mexico State (+0.526%), Central Michigan (+0.495%), Navy (+0.492%) and Western Michigan (+0.489%) and you have this week's non-Power Four social media top 10 covered, with the Aggies whacking Sam Houston State at home, 37-10, on Thursday, while CMU lost to Akron, 27-22, and Navy won the first leg of this year's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy against Air Force, 34-31, moving to 5-0 for the season.
Finally, WMU cruised over MAC newcomer UMass, 21-3, improving to 3-3 for the year, while the Rockets of Toledo had the week off after beating Akron, 45-3, on Sept. 27. The rest of this week's non-Power Four social media superstars included Ohio (+0.484%), Tulsa (+0.466%), Missouri State (+0.396%), Eastern Michigan (+0.392%) and Ball State (+0.391%), illustrating America's love for MAC football, with six members in this week's top 15.
When it comes to weekly movement, the Midshipmen of Navy had the biggest on-field glow-up, social media wise, gaining 50 spots in Week 6, while the Golden Hurricane saw the biggest week-over-week dropoff, falling 11 spots this week.
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Q&A
Q: Which college football team outside the Power 4 conferences dominated social media growth this week?
A: The New Mexico Lobos dominated this week, jumping 4 spots to No. 1 with a 2.210% social growth — the highest of all programs.
Q: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?
A: Yes — the Top 5 featured big surprises: Old Dominion soared 39 spots to No. 3, Memphis climbed 33 spots to No. 5, and Kennesaw State rose 9 spots to No. 4, while North Texas held steady at No. 2.
Q: What does this ranking reveal about the connection between the field and social media?
A: This week's data highlights that college football social media trends don't always mirror on-field performance. Smaller programs may not always be in the national spotlight, but their fans are fueling impressive online growth. The takeaway: winning games helps, but strategic engagement and passionate fan bases are just as powerful for driving digital visibility.
