Gators Go Viral: Sentiment, Reach Surge on Social Media vs. Texas
The Florida Gators took down the No. 9 Texas Longhorns Saturday in an upset win they needed to turn their season around. With a superstar quarterback matchup between Arch Manning and DJ Lagway featuring two schools boasting national brands, the game was always going to create social media buzz – and it delivered.
The sentiment about Billy Napier has been negative after Florida’s disappointing 1-3 start but has started flipping since Saturday. Since Saturday, the negative sentiment surrounding Napier on social media dropped from 60% to only 29%, according to Talkwalker, an analytics tool that measures and tracks social media patterns across all platforms.
“A great coaching effort today by Billy Napier,” said Marty Smith, who was in Gainesville for “Marty & McGee,” in one of the most engaging tweets with Napier’s name mentioned, from Saturday to Monday, with 475 comments. “Huge win for Florida.”
But not all the chatter surrounding Napier proved positive, and even bordered on sarcasm.
“Florida just beat an Elite Texas team. Billy Napier is doing an incredible job with what he has at Florida. Like and retweet if you think he needs at least 10 more years in Gainesville,” @SullenSerf tweeted Saturday in a post that had over 1,400 likes.
Loading ...Freshman receiver breakout Dallas Wilson has also been popular on socials. Talkwalker recorded 10,000 posts about Wilson on Saturday with a potential reach of 127.7 million people. The biggest contributor was Wilson’s monster 55-yard touchdown in the third quarter, when he dragged Texas defenders into the end zone after the catch down the right sideline. The keyword “Dallas Wilson” peaked at about a 78% positive sentiment Saturday.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway also had a bounce back game, winning SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He completed 21 of 28 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, including one when he threw the Horns Down hand sign to the Longhorns sideline after the score in a rare show of emotion this season. The net sentiment for “Lagway” on social media grew from 69% negative Friday to 10% positive by Monday.
Fans had fun with Napier on social media after the game. His status on the hot seat has become where he thrives and the public has started to notice, comparing him to Alabama great coach Nick Saban in games where his job is on the line.
Billy Napier the moment his seat gets hotter than lava pic.twitter.com/MeX4xTEDpT
— Nico (@elitetakes_) October 4, 2025
A little bit of pregame fun with SEC Nation in Gainesville for the game created another viral moment. Former Gators quarterback turned ESPN analyst Tim Tebow showed off when he picked the Gators to win during the show, ripping off his short to reveal a Florida tank top.
Category: College Football, Football, Gators Football, SEC
