Preseason Prediction Accuracy (2006-2008)

See "notes" following the table for more information on its contents.

Magazine	Rank	Total Score	2008	2007	2006
Athlon	1	434	141	135	158
Phil Steele's	2	436	135½	147½	153
Surefire Scouting [Web Site]	3	444	134½	150½	159
CPA Rankings [Web Site]	4	448	136½	141	170½
Southern College Sports [Web Site]	5	459	150	140	169
Game Plan	6	460	141	145	174
The Sporting News	7	464	154	140	170
Gold Sheet	8t	476	143	154	179
Lindy's	8t	476	168	137	171
Blue Ribbon	8t	476	159	145	172
CBSSportsLine.com [Web Site]	11	475	157	177	141

This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the three-year span 2006-2008 ("the last three years" going into the 2009 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 "2004-2008 (last five years)" table, a "1999-2008 (last ten years)" table, and a "1993-2008 (all-time)" 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:

Lower scores are "better." The lower the score, the closer the magazine's predictions were to the actual results.
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See the notes file for further information on the scoring process.