Worth the replay?

1. #1

   FIUatUTSA

   CFB· ESPNOne-sided

   D

   14/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension0/30

   Swings13/25

   Comeback5/20

   Decided late0/15

   Back-and-forth3/10

   Drama 20 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 14

2. #2

   C MichiganatNorthwestern

   CFB· ESPNOne-sided

   D

   3/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension0/30

   Swings4/25

   Comeback0/20

   Decided late0/15

   Back-and-forth0/10

   Drama 4 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 3

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.