Worth the replay?

1. #1

   New Mexico StatLiberty

   CFB· CBSSNDown to the wireBig comeback

   B+

   66/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings25/25

   Comeback17/20

   Decided late15/15

   Back-and-forth8/10

   Drama 95 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 66

2. #2

   Arkansas StatSouth Alabama

   CFB· ESPN2Down to the wireBig comeback

   C+

   54/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings22/25

   Comeback16/20

   Decided late6/15

   Back-and-forth3/10

   Drama 77 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 54

3. #3

   FIUatWestern KY

   CFB· ESPNUOne-sided

   D

   17/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension1/30

   Swings11/25

   Comeback13/20

   Decided late0/15

   Back-and-forth0/10

   Drama 24 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 17

Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.