What is the Gotta See It Meter?

A scoring model on CFB Basecamp that rates every FBS college football game from 0 to 100 on how much it is worth watching, using poll rankings, conference stakes, rivalries, the betting line and the TV network.

How is a game's Meter score calculated?

Points are added for how good both teams are (poll votes and rankings), a power-conference matchup, a conference game, a rivalry, the network it airs on and a close betting line; points are taken away for a large spread. The lines add up to the score, and anything past 100 reads 100.

What do the Meter tiers mean?

Still Ball (0–5) is one to skip; Worth a Flip (6–17) is a game to flip to between plays; I'll Bite (18–33) is worth having on; Ready to Rumble (34–59) is a good game worth your time; Thunderdome (60–99) is a must-watch; Maximum Thunderdome (100) is the game of the week.

Can I change how the Meter scores games?

Yes. The sliders under the Gotta See It Meter button on the slate adjust the weights, and the slate re-ranks immediately. Settings are saved in your browser.

The model · updated when the model changes

How the Gotta See It Meter™ works

Every game starts at zero. Then it earns its way up. The Meter is a scoring model that puts a number from 0 to 100 on every FBS game, every week, using data you can check yourself: the polls, the conference, the rivalry, the line, the channel.

It is a TV guide's answer to "is this worth my Saturday."

What it scores

Each game collects points from a short list of data points, and the game page shows the receipt for every one of them under "What the Meter sees."

The list, in the order it usually matters:

How good both teams are: Each team's share of the AP and Coaches poll votes, averaged, with extra credit when the lower team is also strong. Two ranked teams with a lot of votes each is where the big numbers come from. Once the CFP committee ranks in November, its numbers take over for the teams it lists. Both teams ranked adds a flat bonus for the billing.
Power-conference matchup: Two power-conference teams meeting is worth a bump, and every power-conference team carries a small floor of its own. Notre Dame, Boise State, Washington State and Oregon State count as power-conference here, by decree.
Conference game: League standings are on the line.
Rivalry: They do not like each other, and they never have.
Where it's on: The big broadcast networks and ESPN score highest, the cable sports channels a step down, the conference networks and the smaller channels a step below that, and a stream the least. A network puts its best games where everyone can find them, and a game nobody can find is a lesser game.
Vegas says it's close: A toss-up earns a bonus that fades as the spread widens and is gone by about three touchdowns.
Vegas says it's a blowout: The line takes points away, too. Nothing for a close or medium line; a big spread costs the game, and more the bigger it gets. Halved when the underdog is receiving votes. Nothing at all when the underdog is ranked or when it's a rivalry, because throwing out the records is the entire point of a rivalry.
Neutral site: No home crowd to lean on.
First-place matchup: Once league play starts, two teams leading their conference get a bump.

Add the lines up and that is the score. Past 100 it is a 100 — the biggest games of the year all read the same, and that is fine. Three promises sit under the math: two top-5 teams is a 100, always. Two top-10 teams, neither with a loss, is a 100 too. Two top-10 teams never read below 90.

The tiers

The number is the number; the tier is what to do about it.

Still Ball 0–5: One to skip. It is football, technically.
Worth a Flip 6–17: A game to flip to between plays of something better.
I'll Bite 18–33: Worth having on. You will not regret the hour, and you may not remember it either.
Ready to Rumble 34–59: A good game, worth your time. Plan around it if the window is open.
Thunderdome 60–99: A must-watch. Clear the timeframe.
Maximum Thunderdome 100: The game of the week. The needle buries at the stop and the dial burns red. Food should be delivered during this, not picked up.

A worked example

LSU at Ole Miss, Week 3, 2026: LSU #11 and Ole Miss #9 in the preseason polls, the Magnolia Bowl, an SEC game, 7:30 on ABC, Ole Miss by 2.5. Every line on the list fires: two ranked teams with real vote totals, a power-conference matchup, a rivalry, the biggest network there is, a conference game, a line you could flip a coin on. It adds up past 100, and past 100 is a 100: Maximum Thunderdome. Every game page shows its own receipt, and the numbers there are live; this one is frozen for the example.

What it does not know

Injuries. Weather, which is on the card but not in the score. Whether the quarterback is any good this year, as opposed to what the voters thought in August. Whether you went to one of the schools. The Meter is a reason to look at a game you would have scrolled past, not a reason to skip one you already love. A "Still Ball" can be the best game of your day. It happens every week.

Rate it your way

The sliders under the Gotta See It Meter™ button change the weights above: rivalry, conference stakes, the power-conference bump, the toss-up bonus, the blowout penalty. Move one and the whole slate reorders. Your settings stay in your browser. The defaults are ours, and they are the ones every number on the site uses unless you say otherwise.

Quick answers

What is the Gotta See It Meter?: A scoring model on CFB Basecamp that rates every FBS college football game from 0 to 100 on how much it is worth watching, using poll rankings, conference stakes, rivalries, the betting line and the TV network.
How is a game's Meter score calculated?: Points are added for how good both teams are (poll votes and rankings), a power-conference matchup, a conference game, a rivalry, the network it airs on and a close betting line; points are taken away for a large spread. The lines add up to the score, and anything past 100 reads 100.
What do the Meter tiers mean?: Still Ball (0–5) is one to skip; Worth a Flip (6–17) is a game to flip to between plays; I'll Bite (18–33) is worth having on; Ready to Rumble (34–59) is a good game worth your time; Thunderdome (60–99) is a must-watch; Maximum Thunderdome (100) is the game of the week.
Can I change how the Meter scores games?: Yes. The sliders under the Gotta See It Meter button on the slate adjust the weights, and the slate re-ranks immediately. Settings are saved in your browser.