Season moments

The Games That Defined the Season

As the season progressed, these games stood out. Highest comment-volume events with major fanbase mood swings, whether they were on or off the field.

Aug 30 – Sep 27

The head fakes

August and September, when the comment sections were most confident and most wrong.

Week 1 · Aug 30 · Tallahassee

Florida State 31, Alabama 17

The opener that fooled the whole sport. A Florida State team that would finish 5–7 beat an Alabama team that would finish in the playoff, and both comment sections swung to opposite extremes: the Noles far above their season mood, the Tide far below theirs. Neither mood survived September.

Heard on the Alabama page

“Laughing at the Noles fans thinking a 2-10 team will beat Bama .”

negativeOpponent HostilityFacebook

Heard on the Florida State page

“Go Noles!!! Alabama is garbage and I hope they lose every game”

mixedOpponent HostilityFacebook

Florida StateW31

AlabamaL17

Combined comments that week

13,915

FSU that week

+45 net mood

+57.8 pts vs its season · 1,649 comments

BAMA that week

−39 net mood

−57.5 pts vs its season · 12,266 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week 2 · Sept 6 · The Swamp

South Florida 18, Florida 16

A Group of Five team walked into the Swamp and left with a two-point win. USF’s comment section did more than six times its normal weekly volume; Florida’s spent the week asking why the injury report said “undisclosed.” The Gators never really steadied: their fans finished third in the country for coaching talk per 1,000 comments.

Heard on the South Florida page

“Bulls gonna gore some gator hopefully they feed players gator tail with a mango Coconut sauce for pregame meal lol”

positiveOpponent HostilityFacebook

Heard on the Florida page

“Why isn't lj mccray or Ben Hanks 3 playing.....on injuries it says undisclosed”

negativeInjuriesFacebook

South FloridaW18

FloridaL16

Combined comments that week

6,511

USF that week

+57 net mood

+23.3 pts vs its season · 3,043 comments

FLA that week

−43 net mood

−47.7 pts vs its season · 3,468 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week 5 · Sept 27 · The White Out

Oregon 30, Penn State 24 in double overtime

The loudest home stage in the sport, a top-billing matchup, two overtimes, and then quiet. Penn State’s comment section fell 46 points net negative on the week, and the White Out loss was the first of six straight defeats. The same fanbase would later stage the biggest second-half mood recovery in the country.

Heard on the Penn State page

“I sure hope for our sake that this critical game is won by PSU. Otherwise, that coach is overrated and overpaid”

positiveCoachingFacebook

Heard on the Oregon page

“So they are going to wear glow in the dark jerseys and cleats in a stadium that is litup like an operating room. What am I missing?”

negativeStadium ExperienceFacebook

OregonW30

Penn StateL24

2OT

Combined comments that week

7,963

ORE that week

+39 net mood

+15.9 pts vs its season · 2,070 comments

PSU that week

−46 net mood

−44.1 pts vs its season · 5,893 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Oct 4 – Oct 25

The slide and the surge

October: one blue blood unraveled one score at a time, and the eventual champion announced itself on the road.

Week 6 · Oct 4 · Gainesville

Florida 29, Texas 21

A Florida team headed for 4–8 beat a Texas team headed for ten wins, and neither comment section quite believed what it was watching. Gators fans grumbled that the sellout crowd was “all Texas fans.” Texas fans, who would finish the season as the unhappiest ten-win fanbase in the country, treated the loss as confirmation.

Heard on the Florida page

“And it’s all Texas fans! No Gator would pay for the product we have seen on the field.”

negativeCrowd & AttendanceFacebook

FloridaW29

TexasL21

Combined comments that week

6,833

FLA that week

+23 net mood

+18.6 pts vs its season · 1,581 comments

TEX that week

−42 net mood

−46.3 pts vs its season · 5,252 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week 7 · Oct 11 · Happy Valley

Northwestern 22, Penn State 21

A third straight one-score loss, this one at home to Northwestern, and the Penn State comment section stopped arguing about the team and started talking about the job. Within the week, fans were posting through a change at the top, while Northwestern’s section quietly counted down to bowl eligibility.

Heard on the Penn State page

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

positiveCrowd & AttendanceFacebook

Heard on the Northwestern page

“Was at the game! Divided house but enjoyed seeing Northwestern win! Go Cats!”

positiveCrowd & AttendanceFacebook

NorthwesternW22

Penn StateL21

Combined comments that week

5,695

NU that week

+61 net mood

+14.9 pts vs its season · 284 comments

PSU that week

−34 net mood

−32.2 pts vs its season · 5,411 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week 7 · Oct 11 · Autzen Stadium

Indiana 30, Oregon 20

The road win that made 16–0 believable. Ducks fans spent the pregame thread on Indiana’s own page explaining how rarely visitors win at Autzen; Indiana left with a ten-point win and a comment section running 78% positive on double its normal volume. The Hoosiers would see Oregon again in January. That one finished 56–22.

Heard on the Indiana page

“Apparently you have Never been to Autzen stadium pretty uncommon for visiting teams to win here well at least they will get to experience the Autzen atmosphere”

neutralCrowd & AttendanceFacebook

IndianaW30

OregonL20

Combined comments that week

5,663

IU that week

+64 net mood

+6.3 pts vs its season · 3,359 comments

ORE that week

−24 net mood

−46.6 pts vs its season · 2,304 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Weeks 8–9 · Oct 18–25 · Baton Rouge

Texas A&M 49, LSU 25

LSU lost at Vanderbilt, then got run off its own field by Texas A&M, and the comment section moved on from the games entirely. Across those two weeks more than a third of everything LSU fans typed carried a Team & Front Office tag, almost all of it about the head coach. Only seven fanbases in the country finished the season talking coaching at a higher rate.

Heard on the LSU page

“WHY CAN'T LSU GET A COACH FROM SABAN COACHES ???”

negativeCoachingFacebook

Texas A&MW49

LSUL25

Combined comments that week

14,436

TAMU that week

+49 net mood

+28.9 pts vs its season · 6,777 comments

LSU that week

−25 net mood

−22.6 pts vs its season · 7,659 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Nov 8 – Nov 29

Swing season

November, when a rivalry Saturday set the season’s volume record and two fanbases had their biggest weeks about games nobody was watching.

Week 11 · Nov 8 · Camp Randall

Wisconsin 13, Washington 10

A team headed for 4–8 beat a team headed for nine wins, and both comment sections got angrier. Washington’s net mood fell 119 points week over week, its sharpest drop of the season. Wisconsin fans, who posted the lowest positive share in the FBS this season, celebrated the upset by calling for coaching changes anyway.

Heard on the Wisconsin page

“The coaching situation has to change!! Fire Fickle!!”

negativeCoachingFacebook

Heard on the Washington page

“Watching this game is like viewing which team could look more lame. We look so sloppy and undisciplined. Fisch’s play calling is also atrocious.”

negativeCoachingFacebook

WisconsinW13

WashingtonL10

Combined comments that week

4,876

WIS that week

+21 net mood

+52.1 pts vs its season · 4,442 comments

WASH that week

−62 net mood

−92.1 pts vs its season · 434 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week 12 · Nov 15 · Tallahassee

Florida State 34, Virginia Tech 14, and nobody watched the game

Virginia Tech lost by 20 and still had the busiest comment week of its season by a mile: thirteen times its normal volume, with more than a third of comments carrying a Team & Front Office tag. The Hokies had just hired James Franklin, the same coach whose Penn State exit began in October, and the section had already moved on to next year.

Heard on the Virginia Tech page

“It seems fitting that coach Franklin goes to VA Tech. Penn State lost a brilliant young man in the 2007 massacre. A part of my Penn State heart as always been with VA Tech🧡♥️”

positiveCoachingFacebook

Heard on the Virginia Tech page

“Enter Sandman! Go Hokies ❤️”

positiveBandFacebook

Florida StateW34

Virginia TechL14

Combined comments that week

5,935

FSU that week

+26 net mood

+38 pts vs its season · 801 comments

VT that week

−1 net mood

+7.8 pts vs its season · 5,134 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Rivalry Saturday · Nov 29 · Ann Arbor

Ohio State 27, Michigan 9

The biggest comment week of the season anywhere in the sport: nearly 31,000 combined comments across the two pages. Ohio State fans arrived nervous (“Can’t lose to them again”) and left 19 points above their season mood; Michigan’s section sank 26 points below its own. The two fanbases finished the year second and third in the country for total comment volume.

Heard on the Ohio State page

“I'd bet Days job depends on this win. Can't lose to them again or he will be looking for a new job”

positiveCoachingFacebook

Heard on the Michigan page

“Michigan, let’s go!! You’re playing at home DEFEND your house!! Send those suckers from down south back home on a long 3hr trip LETS GO BLUE 🏈🏈🏈🏈”

positiveOpponent HostilityFacebook

Ohio StateW27

MichiganL9

Combined comments that week

30,853

OSU that week

+46 net mood

+18.9 pts vs its season · 16,044 comments

MICH that week

−21 net mood

−25.5 pts vs its season · 14,809 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Rivalry Saturday · Nov 29 · Fayetteville

Missouri 31, Arkansas 17, and a 14,000-comment referendum

Arkansas closed a 2–10 season with a home loss and had its biggest comment week of the year: eleven times normal volume, with over 4,000 comments carrying a Team & Front Office tag. Very little of it was about the game itself. Razorback fans spent rivalry week campaigning over who should hold the head-coaching job next season.

Heard on the Arkansas page

“GIVE BOBBY P 2-3 years on a smaller money contract. And if he doesn’t turn it around then reconsider. he’s the best option we got”

positiveCoachingFacebook

MissouriW31

ArkansasL17

Combined comments that week

15,336

MIZ that week

+24 net mood

+1.5 pts vs its season · 1,108 comments

ARK that week

−15 net mood

+6.8 pts vs its season · 14,228 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Dec 6 – Jan 19

IU Rewrites the History Books

No superlative can describe Indiana’s title run. Your comments, perhaps, are the next best thing.

Dec 6 · Big Ten Championship · Indianapolis

Indiana 13, Ohio State 10

The three-point win that settled the Big Ten and set up January. Indiana’s comment section posted its biggest volume of the season to that point at 75% positive, and the thread turned into Hoosier and Buckeye fans trading receipts, a preview of the playoff bracket both teams would headline.

Heard on the Indiana page

“Don't cry when we beat them. Like we did you”

positiveOpponent HostilityFacebook

Heard on the Indiana page

“Nobody cares when IU last won against the Bucks. Saturday’s game is what matters ❤️🤍❤️🤍”

mixedOpponent HostilityFacebook

IndianaW13

Ohio StateL10

Combined comments that week

14,933

IU that week

+58 net mood

+0.3 pts vs its season · 4,563 comments

OSU that week

+15 net mood

−11.7 pts vs its season · 10,370 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Dec 31 · CFP Quarterfinal

Miami 24, Ohio State 14

Ohio State’s playoff exit ran its comment week 41 points below its season baseline, the lowest its section sat all year. Miami rode 24 points above its own norm into a semifinal against Ole Miss it would win by four, while the Buckeyes’ page spent New Year’s Eve reaching all the way back to 2002.

Heard on the Ohio State page

“How can a team win The 2002 fiesta bowl with an ineligible player Maurice clarett. Karma awaits Ohio state on December 31. You took something that did not belong to you in 2002.”

negativePlayer ConductFacebook

MiamiW24

Ohio StateL14

Combined comments that week

20,029

MIA that week

+44 net mood

+23.9 pts vs its season · 6,267 comments

OSU that week

−14 net mood

−40.7 pts vs its season · 13,762 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Jan 19 · National Championship

Indiana 27, Miami 21

16–0. Indiana finished the only perfect season in the FBS and its comment section had its biggest week of the year: nearly 7,000 comments at 69 points net positive, with rival fans stopping by to pay respect. A fanbase that ranked just 18th in season comment volume, behind three teams with losing records, closed the season with its biggest, happiest week.

Heard on the Indiana page

“Buckeye fan here. Good luck on Monday, this is your year. Go get that natty !”

positiveOpponent RespectFacebook

Heard on the Miami page

“IU’s gonna turn the Hurricane into a puddle!!!”

negativeOpponent HostilityFacebook

IndianaW27

MiamiL21

Combined comments that week

16,168

IU that week

+69 net mood

+10.9 pts vs its season · 6,986 comments

MIA that week

+18 net mood

−2.2 pts vs its season · 9,182 comments

Game breakdown →Fanbases head to head →

Week stats compare each fanbase’s comment week for the game against its own season baseline. Real comments, classified by Sence. How the numbers work.