See "notes" following the table for more information on its contents.
| Magazine | Rank | Total Score |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
| DRatings.com | 1 | 896 | 314 | 353 | 229 |
| Athlon | 2 | 907 | 341 | 348 | 218 |
| McIllece Sports | 3 | 909 | 342 | 350.5 | 216.5 |
| Phil Steele | 4 | 913.5 | 353 | 339 | 221.5 |
| Pick Six Previews | 5 | 916 | 346.5 | 344.5 | 225 |
| Arena Fanatic | 6 | 928 | 331 | 370.5 | 226.5 |
| Lindy's | 7 | 944 | 358 | 368 | 218 |
| Versus Sports Simulator (formerly compughterratings.com) | 8 | 960 | 358 | 385.5 | 216.5 |
| CollegeFootballPoll.com | 9 | 964.5 | 353.5 | 373.5 | 237.5 |
| ESPN | 10 | 972 | 339 | 389 | 244 |
This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the three-year span 2023-2025 ("the last three years" going into the 2026 season). In order to qualify for either table, a magazine must have been published for every year used in that table.
There is also a "2021-2025 (last five years)" table and a "2015-2024 (last ten years)" table.
Tables with more years have the advantage of having a larger sample of data: a single unusually lucky or unlucky year has less impact on the standings. However, tables with fewer years have the advantage of including more magazines: several of the magazines available today were not published if one goes back far enough.
Notes: