Head to head

Whose comment section wins?

Pick any two fanbases and compare what their comment sections say, stat for stat.

Big Ten
Illinois
Fighting Illini
vs
Big Ten
USC
Trojans
On the field
Illinois won 3432 on Sep 27.
The comment sections had their own opinions.
ILL sentiment · 15,179 comments
Positive53.3%
Neutral12.2%
Negative32.7%
Mixed1.9%
USC sentiment · 40,287 comments
Positive51.2%
Neutral12.1%
Negative34.8%
Mixed1.9%
Mood

Who is happier

Fan Score counts positive comments per 1,000, so a loud fanbase cannot buy its way up the board. Positive share tells the same story as a percentage of everything said.

Illinois
USC

Fan Score

532.6 (better)
511.6

Positive comments per 1,000 (higher wins)

Positive share

53.3% (better)
51.2%

Share of all comments that are positive

Edge

Who is harsher

Negativity, toxicity and explicit language, every one of them per 1,000 comments so the two sides stay comparable whatever their volume.

Illinois
USC

Negativity

327 (better)
348.4

Negative comments per 1,000 (lower wins)

Toxicity

32.9 (better)
51.8

Harm and identity-based abuse per 1,000 (lower wins)

Explicit language

26.7 (better)
34

Explicit-language comments per 1,000 (lower wins)

Identity-based abuse, tag by tag

Tag applications per 1,000 comments

0.1Race0.8
1.6Gender3.1
0.3LGBTQIA+0.6
0.6Age1.5

Illinois left, USC right. Tag applications per 1,000 comments, on the same scale across every row. Reported as rates only: this block never picks a winner.

Subject matter

What they talk about

Three topic groups where neither direction is better, just louder. These rows describe a comment section instead of scoring it.

Illinois
USC

Betting talk

4.1
3.8

Sports-betting comments per 1,000

Team & front office talk

98.2
127.5

Team and front-office comments per 1,000: coaching, the athletic department, and gameday

NIL & portal talk

7.2
7.4

NIL and Transfer Portal tag applications per 1,000, which may overlap

Shape of the season

Week by week, side by side

The same season read twice: weekly mood for both comment sections, the weeks the two teams actually met, and where each fanbase lands nationally on the seven topic groups.

Rivalry pulse

Weekly comment shares: Illinois up, USC down
Illinois positive ↑USC positive ↓Negative shareHover a W or L for that week’s result
ILL 34USC 32
Illinois had the happier comment section in 13 of 22 shared weeks, USC in 9. When they met on Sep 27, Illinois won 34–32; Illinois’s comments were the more positive that week.
Weekly positive and negative comment shares for Illinois and USC
Week ofIllinois resultIllinois positive shareIllinois negative shareUSC resultUSC positive shareUSC negative share
2025-08-23W66.7%16.2%55.9%23.9%
2025-08-3060.7%18%W50.6%33.7%
2025-09-06W64.8%23%W34.6%50.5%
2025-09-13W50.9%33%W57.9%29.1%
2025-09-20L17.7%68.6%W54.1%30.3%
2025-09-27W59.6%28.2%L37%51%
2025-10-04W63.1%22%54.3%27.3%
2025-10-11L34%50.7%W69.7%16.3%
2025-10-1841.3%43.2%L42.7%41.8%
2025-10-25L25.2%63.3%56.5%27.9%
2025-11-01W64.9%23.3%W W60%24.8%
2025-11-0864.7%14.5%61.3%23.7%
2025-11-15W59.7%26.7%W60.5%24.7%
2025-11-22L27.9%64.3%L49.9%40.3%
2025-11-29W65.8%18.1%W52.5%33%
2025-12-0662.8%14.3%42.2%41.4%
2025-12-1383.8%7.8%56.7%26.2%
2025-12-2082.1%7.3%68.5%17.7%
2025-12-27W80%12.2%L20.2%70.9%
2026-01-0363.9%20.1%49.8%34.4%
2026-01-1043.6%30.3%62.2%23.4%
2026-01-1735.8%31.2%51.7%34.1%
Reactions from that night · Sep 27
Illinois

What time do the gates open?

neutralStadium ExperienceFacebook

I’m surprised they didn’t try to blur out all the Chief logos

negativeBroadcast & MediaFacebook
USC

Michigan's largest alumni base is in Southern California. Go Blue 💙💛〽️!!

positiveOpponent RespectFacebook

No. Likely at either 4A or 1A. Enjoy!!!! So love (NOT‼️) the new BS scheduling.

negativeExplicit AcronymFacebook

Fingerprint duel

Each fanbase's national percentile on the seven comment-topic groups, overlaid.

IllinoisUSC
Harm · USC +29 ptsIdentity-Based Abuse · USC +39 ptsExplicit Language · USC +14 ptsCollege Sports · USC +22 ptsOff-Field Storylines · ILL +28 ptsSports Betting · ILL +8 ptsTeam & Front Office · USC +33 pts
Each axis is the team's percentile among ranked FBS teams for that tag group; deltas are gaps in percentile points. Low-volume fanbases are excluded from each cohort.
  • Illinois Harm: 52nd percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois Identity-Based Abuse: 37th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois Explicit Language: 62nd percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois College Sports: 56th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois Off-Field Storylines: 80th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois Sports Betting: 76th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Illinois Team & Front Office: 24th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Harm: 81st percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Identity-Based Abuse: 76th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Explicit Language: 76th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC College Sports: 78th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Off-Field Storylines: 52nd percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Sports Betting: 68th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • USC Team & Front Office: 57th percentile of ranked FBS teams

The season, felt twice

Weekly positive share for both comment sections on one axis; hover shows the week's combined comment volume. Illinois's positive share was higher in 13 of 22 shared weeks, USC's in 9.

ILLUSC
0%42%84%Aug 23Jan 17
Weekly values: ILL, USC
Week ofILLUSCComments
2025-08-2366.7%55.9%821
2025-08-3060.7%50.6%2,816
2025-09-0664.8%34.6%3,839
2025-09-1350.9%57.9%3,218
2025-09-2017.7%54.1%3,969
2025-09-2759.6%37%2,756
2025-10-0463.1%54.3%1,539
2025-10-1134%69.7%4,149
2025-10-1841.3%42.7%2,400
2025-10-2525.2%56.5%857
2025-11-0164.9%60%2,040
2025-11-0864.7%61.3%2,678
2025-11-1559.7%60.5%3,565
2025-11-2227.9%49.9%5,058
2025-11-2965.8%52.5%3,997
2025-12-0662.8%42.2%1,867
2025-12-1383.8%56.7%1,972
2025-12-2082.1%68.5%627
2025-12-2780%20.2%4,681
2026-01-0363.9%49.8%1,076
2026-01-1043.6%62.2%1,192
2026-01-1735.8%51.7%349
Behind the numbers

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