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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Rank | Team | Social Media Growth |
1 |
| 2.62% |
2 |
| 1.17% |
3 |
| 0.98% |
4 |
| 0.91% |
5 |
| 0.89% |
6 |
| 0.63% |
7 |
| 0.58% |
T8 |
| 0.54% |
T8 |
| 0.54% |
10 |
| 0.50% |
11 |
| 0.47% |
12 |
| 0.45% |
13 |
| 0.44% |
14 |
| 0.42% |
15 |
| 0.41% |
Virginia Cavaliers (↑19)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (↑16)
Arizona State Sun Devils (↑10)
Syracuse Orange (↑10)
Indiana Hoosiers (↓1)
Oregon Ducks (↑16)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-)
Houston Cougars (↑23)
Washington Huskies (↑38)
BYU Cougars (↑22)
Cincinnati Bearcats (↑3)
Auburn Tigers (↓3)
Vanderbilt Commodores (↓10)
Ole Miss Rebels (↓7)
Maryland Terrapins (↓19)Anytime you knock off a top 10 team, you're bound to see some sort of a bump online, which is exactly what happened to the Virginia Cavaliers this week, with the ACC stalwarts jumping 19 spots to No. 1 in Week 5 after upsetting No. 8 Florida State, 46-38, on Friday night in Charlottesville.
The victory was the Cavaliers' first victory over a top 10 team at Scott Stadium since 2005, when UVA also beat the Seminoles, with Tony Elliott's team jumping into the latest AP top 25 at No. 24 ahead of the 'Wahoos' road game against Louisville on Saturday afternoon.
While UVA was our top Power Four team, social media follower wise, with a week-over-week growth rate of 2.62%, other top teams this week included Wake Forest (+1.17%), Arizona State (+0.98%), Syracuse (+0.91%) and Indiana (+0.89%), while the Oregon Ducks were sixth, with a growth rate of 0.63% during that timeframe.
For the Demon Deacons, Week 5 was far from sweet, as the Winston-Salem based school fell to 16th ranked Georgia Tech at home, 30-29, while Arizona State survived in Tempe against TCU, 27-24, on a late field goal to move to 4-1 this season and Indiana survived in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes, 20-15, to move to 5-0 for the year as quarterback Fernando Mendoza upped his Heisman Trophy odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to +1100, ranking alongside Miami QB Carson Beck and Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith for the third best odds nationally, behind Dante Moore of Oregon (+750) and Ty Simpson of Alabama (+900).
Moore's team was sixth nationally after the Ducks marched into Happy Valley and left with a 30-24 double OT win over No. 3 Penn State, with the sophomore from Detroit hitting on 29-of-39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns to move Oregon to 5-0 for the year.
The rest of the Week 5 Power Four social media chart included teams like Georgia Tech (+0.58%), Houston and Washington (+0.54% each) and BYU (+0.50%), while others like Cincinnati (+0.47%), Auburn (+0.45%), Vanderbilt (+0.44%), Ole Miss (+0.42%) and Maryland (+0.41%) rounded out this week's list.
Q&A:
Q1: Which college football team dominated social media growth this week?
The Virginia Cavaliers led all programs in social media growth this week, climbing 19 spots to No. 1 with a 2.62% increase. That surge put them well ahead of the rest of the field.
Q2: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?
Yes — the Top 5 featured some surprising risers. Wake Forest (up 16 spots), Arizona State and Syracuse (both up 10 spots) all made big leaps, while Indiana managed to stay in the Top 5 despite slipping one spot.
Q3: What does this ranking reveal about the connection between the field and social media?
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.
