Head to head

Whose comment section wins?

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

Big Ten
Northwestern
Wildcats
vs
Big Ten
Penn State
Nittany Lions
On the field
Northwestern won 2221 on Oct 11.
The comment sections had their own opinions.
NU sentiment · 1,838 comments
Positive67.1%
Neutral9.8%
Negative21.5%
Mixed1.6%
PSU sentiment · 57,708 comments
Positive42.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative44.3%
Mixed1.5%
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.

Northwestern
Penn State

Fan Score

671.4 (better)
424.9

Positive comments per 1,000 (higher wins)

Positive share

67.1% (better)
42.5%

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.

Northwestern
Penn State

Negativity

214.9 (better)
442.9

Negative comments per 1,000 (lower wins)

Toxicity

30.5 (better)
46.5

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

Explicit language

21.8
(better)11.8

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

Identity-based abuse, tag by tag

Tag applications per 1,000 comments

Northwestern left, Penn State 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.

Northwestern
Penn State

Betting talk

7.1
4

Sports-betting comments per 1,000

Team & front office talk

169.2
199.1

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

NIL & portal talk

9.2
6.3

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: Northwestern up, Penn State down
Northwestern positive ↑Penn State positive ↓Negative shareHover a W or L for that week’s result
NU 22PSU 21
Northwestern had the happier comment section in 15 of 20 shared weeks, Penn State in 5. When they met on Oct 11, Northwestern won 22–21; Northwestern’s comments were the more positive that week.
Weekly positive and negative comment shares for Northwestern and Penn State
Week ofNorthwestern resultNorthwestern positive shareNorthwestern negative sharePenn State resultPenn State positive sharePenn State negative share
2025-08-23100%0%56%27.5%
2025-08-30L W12.1%78.8%W41%40.2%
2025-09-0650.6%33.3%W30.7%55.6%
2025-09-13L50%35%W32%53.6%
2025-09-2070.8%29.2%37%19.1%
2025-09-27W64.8%25.4%L21.4%67.3%
2025-10-04W75.4%6.2%L16.8%71.7%
2025-10-11W75%14.4%L27.7%61.7%
2025-10-18W76.8%14.1%L33.5%53.4%
2025-10-25L56%36%50.5%39.5%
2025-11-01L68.8%31.3%L39.3%48.7%
2025-11-0894.7%0%L32.9%46.6%
2025-11-15L39.3%46.4%W65.9%25.5%
2025-11-22W86.7%7.6%W74.3%16.5%
2025-11-29L88.2%2%W45.5%42.7%
2025-12-0668.3%11.1%60.4%25.5%
2025-12-1372.8%16.8%
2025-12-20W66%28.3%68.3%18.6%
2025-12-2754%32%W69.4%20.9%
2026-01-0360.4%17.6%58.5%21.8%
2026-01-1025%75%80.1%9%
2026-01-1774.2%16.1%
Reactions from that night · Oct 11
Northwestern

Coach may want to rethink a run from the five for a two-point conversion

negativeCoachingFacebook

They are playing very well. Brain n has done a good job. 2 more wins and we are Bowl eligible. 👏

positiveCoachingFacebook
Penn State

We will do this no matter who is coach…so show up and be loud. Let’s go!!

positiveCrowd & AttendanceFacebook

With nil money are these guys still getting scholarships ?

negativeNILFacebook

Fingerprint duel

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

NorthwesternPenn State
Harm · Low volumeIdentity-Based Abuse · Low volumeExplicit Language · Low volumeCollege Sports · Low volumeOff-Field Storylines · Low volumeSports Betting · Low volumeTeam & Front Office · Low volume
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.
  • Northwestern Harm: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern Identity-Based Abuse: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern Explicit Language: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern College Sports: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern Off-Field Storylines: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern Sports Betting: low volume, not ranked
  • Northwestern Team & Front Office: low volume, not ranked
  • Penn State Harm: 76th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State Identity-Based Abuse: 47th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State Explicit Language: 31st percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State College Sports: 46th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State Off-Field Storylines: 25th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State Sports Betting: 70th percentile of ranked FBS teams
  • Penn State Team & Front Office: 89th 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. Northwestern's positive share was higher in 15 of 20 shared weeks, Penn State's in 5.

NUPSU
0%50%100%Aug 23Jan 17
Weekly values: NU, PSU
Week ofNUPSUComments
2025-08-23100%56%966
2025-08-3012.1%41%1,661
2025-09-0650.6%30.7%2,663
2025-09-1350%32%1,426
2025-09-2070.8%37%1,733
2025-09-2764.8%21.4%5,964
2025-10-0475.4%16.8%7,199
2025-10-1175%27.7%5,695
2025-10-1876.8%33.5%3,291
2025-10-2556%50.5%1,072
2025-11-0168.8%39.3%2,155
2025-11-0894.7%32.9%2,813
2025-11-1539.3%65.9%2,762
2025-11-2286.7%74.3%2,969
2025-11-2988.2%45.5%2,828
2025-12-0668.3%60.4%6,202
2025-12-130%72.8%1,459
2025-12-2066%68.3%1,075
2025-12-2754%69.4%4,230
2026-01-0360.4%58.5%238
2026-01-1025%80.1%536
2026-01-170%74.2%609
Behind the numbers

Sence read 2,498,712 college-football comments to build this site. It can read yours.