The watch guide ranks each day's college and NFL games by how worth watching they should be, grouped by kickoff time.
How it works
Watch score (0-100): it starts from ESPN's matchup quality, a rating of how good both teams are and how close the game should be. A Top 25 matchup or playoff stakes in college, or two winning teams in the NFL, each close a quarter of the gap to 100 (60 becomes 70).
Your teams: a starred team goes to the top, and games with your fantasy starters move up a little.
Live: a game moves up for overtime, a one-score fourth quarter or an underdog leading in the second half, and drops for a blowout.
Quadbox: four games on one screen, never two on the same channel, the best top left with its sound on. A game loses its box when it ends, turns into a blowout or something much better comes on.
Keep in mind
It's a guess at entertainment, not a ranking of the teams. The Watch number on a game is its pregame score; the order also counts your teams and what's happening live.
When it updates
The day's games are set four times a day, around 5:30 and 11:30 AM and PM Eastern; live scores and the order refresh every minute during games.
For the curious
During games: overtime adds 40, a fourth quarter within 8 points adds 30, the favorite trailing in the second half adds 15, and a blowout (21 points in college, 17 in the NFL) takes off 30. Each fantasy starter adds 5, each bench player 2, up to 20. Without ESPN's matchup quality, the closeness of the spread stands in.