Who's Hot? John Mateer and Oklahoma: College Sports Social Pulse Rankings Are a Brand New Metric

By College Sports Social Pulse

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer didn’t just lead the Sooners past Michigan last weekend — he led them to the top of the national online conversation.

Mateer dethroned Arch Manning to become the new No. 1 in the College Sports Social Pulse™ player rankings, while Oklahoma vaulted to No. 4 in the team standings and head coach Brent Venables surged to No. 3 in the coaches’ rankings.

The College Sports Social Pulse, powered by the University of South Carolina’s Social Media Insights Lab, analyzes millions of posts across social platforms each week to determine which teams, players and coaches dominate the online conversation. Rankings reflect a proprietary blend of engagement, volume, and net sentiment — a scoreboard for fan passion that captures not just who wins on the field, but who wins in the feeds.

“John Mateer’s surge shows how quickly a breakout performance can reshape the national conversation,” said Clay Owen, professor of practice at the University of South Carolina’s College of Information and Communications. “Oklahoma’s win is one of the sport’s breakout storylines of the young season. The Sooners didn’t just beat Michigan — they won the weekend online.”

Despite the Boomer Sooner online craze, it’s the Big Ten that owns the top of the team rankings. Ohio State is the No. 1 team for the third straight week, followed closely by Michigan.

Ohio State also dominated the overall player rankings with Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin all in the Top 10. One new entrant among the players is Alabama’s freshman phenom Keelon Russell. Russell’s big numbers against outmatched UL Monroe drove a wave of online activity to land him in the No. 6 spot among players.

Top 10 Teams – Week 3

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Ole Miss
4. Oklahoma
5. Oklahoma State
6. Colorado
7. Alabama
8. Tennessee
9. Georgia
10. Iowa State

Top 10 Players – Week 3

1. John Mateer – Oklahoma
2. Bryce Underwood – Michigan
3. Arch Manning – Texas
4. Caleb Downs – Ohio State
5. Joey Aguilar – Tennessee
6. Keelon Russell – Alabama
7. Jeremiah Smith – Ohio State
8. Austin Mack – Alabama
9. Ty Simpson – Alabama
10. Julian Sayin – Ohio State

Top 10 Coaches – Week 3

1. Deion Sanders – Colorado
2. Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
3. Brent Venables – Oklahoma
4. Billy Napier – Florida
5. Josh Heupel – Tennessee
6. Bill Belichick – North Carolina
7. Mike Norvell – Florida State
8. Fran Brown – Syracuse
9. Ryan Day – Ohio State
10. Dan Lanning – Oregon

“The Pulse is designed to measure attention, whether it’s celebration or scrutiny,” Owen added. “Deion Sanders remains the dominant figure, but Kalen DeBoer and Billy Napier are proving that fan chatter doesn’t just follow the scoreboard — it drives the sport’s culture.”

Methodology

The College Sports Social Pulse Week Zero rankings are built from millions of social posts across X, Instagram, Reddit, and more. Using a formula that blends volume, sentiment, and engagement, the Pulse shows who’s winning the online conversation.

Week Two measures online activity from Sept. 2-8. Every Pulse ranking reflects a single week of activity (Tuesday through Monday). This shift allows the Pulse to capture the volatility of college football in real time — the weekly rises, falls and breakout storylines that define the sport beyond the field.

About the Pulse

The College Sports Social Pulse™, developed by the University of South Carolina’s Social Media Insights Lab, analyzes millions of social media posts each week to track the shifting heartbeat of college football fandom. Using a proprietary blend of engagement, sentiment, and volume, the Pulse reveals which teams, players, and coaches are dominating the national conversation online — regardless of what the scoreboard says.

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