Worth the replay?

Friday, September 4's games ranked by how good they turned out to be: late drama, comebacks, lead swaps and overtime. No scores, no winners, so you can decide what to watch without spoilers.

Best games of the season →

#1
San José StatE Michigan
CFB· ESPN+Back and forth
B
56/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30
Swings21/25
Comeback12/20
Decided late7/15
Back-and-forth10/10
Drama 80 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 56
#2
ToledoatMichigan St
CFB· FS1Back and forth
D
27/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension11/30
Swings16/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late2/15
Back-and-forth10/10
Drama 39 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 27
#3
MiamiatStanford
CFB· ESPNBack and forthOne-sided
D
21/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings15/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth10/10
Drama 25 × pre-game weight 0.82 (pre-game Watchability 65, estimated) = 21
#4
Indiana StatPurdue
CFB· BTNOne-sided
D
12/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings14/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth3/10
Drama 17 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 12
#5
Fresno StatUSC
CFB· FoxOne-sided
D
2/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings0/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth3/10
Drama 3 × pre-game weight 0.82 (pre-game Watchability 65, estimated) = 2
#6
UTEPatOklahoma
CFB· SECN+One-sided
D
0/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings0/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth0/10
Drama 0 × pre-game weight 0.82 (pre-game Watchability 65, estimated) = 0
#7
NC A&TatGeorgia St
CFB· ESPN+One-sided
D
0/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings0/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth0/10
Drama 0 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 0
#8
Long IslandatKansas
CFB· ESPNUOne-sided
D
0/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30
Swings0/25
Comeback0/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth0/10
Drama 0 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 0

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.