Which Non-Power 4 College Football Teams Gained the Most Followers after Week 15?

RotoWire.com, where you can find college football betting information going into the bowls and the College Football Playoff, 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 after the final week of the regular season, based on percentage growth week-over-week on the platforms.

Social Media Power Rankings

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Which Non-Power Four CFB Teams Gained Most In Week 15?

Two non-Power Four football teams cracked the CFP for the first time over the weekend, but neither Tulane nor James Madison finished atop our social media power rankings.

The lowly UMass Minutemen of the MAC took home that honor after finishing the only 0-12 season in FBS.

Massachusetts gained 1.592% more followers on social media during the weekend, despite putting up one of the most forlorn seasons in recent college football history and even though the program's season had ended a week earlier than almost all other teams.

James Madison social media accounts ranked fifth among non-Power Four programs in Week 15, gaining 1.086% more followers as the Dukes won the Sun Belt title over unranked Troy, 31-14. JMU is up to a 21-point underdog at US sportsbooks in their first CFP game, Dec. 20 at Oregon.

FBS newcomer Missouri State finished No. 2 this week by our metrics, gaining 1.376% more followers on social media during conference championship week. The Bears did not make the Conference USA title game but closed out an impressive debut season at this level at 7-5 and booked a place in the Xbox Bowl on Dec. 18.

New Mexico State (+1.320%) and North Texas (+1.144%) were numbers three and four, respectively, on our list. The Mean Green made the American Conference Championship Game, falling to Tulane 34-21 to cap off an 11-2 campaign in Denton. UNT faces San Diego State in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on Dec. 27, with the Mean Green a 3.5-point favorite over the Aztecs at Caesars Sportsbook as of Dec. 8.

The Aggies of NMSU went 4-8 in CUSA this season, with victories over Bryant of the FCS ranks and FBS members Tulsa, Sam Houston State and UTEP.

Who Else Made The List To End The Regular Season?

Kennesaw State (up 0.994% in our social media tracking), South Florida (+0.971%), New Mexico (+0.827%), Tulane (+0.762%) and Liberty (+0.726%) rounded out the top 10.

Kennesaw State won the CUSA title on Friday to cap an eight-win improvement from last season in the Peach State. The second-year FBS program knocked off defending league champion Jacksonville State, 19-15, in the title game. KSU faces MAC champion Western Michigan in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 19, with DraftKings Sportsbook listing WMU as a 4.5-point favorite.

Speaking of Western Michigan, the school based in Kalamazoo ranked 11th among non-Power Four programs online, rising 0.709% in week-over-week social media growth.

The Broncos were followed by FBS newcomer Delaware, at +0.695. Like Missouri State, the Blue Hens joined CUSA after moving up from the FCS level. Also like the Bears, Delaware earned a bowl invitation (the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama).

Q&A

Q: Which college football team dominated social media growth this week?

A: The Massachusetts Minutemen dominated with a 1.592% increase this week.

Q: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?

A: The most surprising jump was the Missouri State Bears, which had a 1.376% increase this week to earn the No. 2 spot in our rankings.