This page ranks the accuracy of the preseason magazines' conference predictions for 2012, by comparing them to conference finish.
Lower scores indicate more accurate predictions; the lower the score, the closer the predictions were to the actual results. Magazines are sorted by total score for all conferences, with the best predictions (lowest total scores) at the top. The best prediction for each conference/division is highlighted in the list. For information on the scoring method, see the notes file.
| Rank | Magazine (yellow=web, cyan=app) |
Total Score |
ACC Atl. |
ACC Coa. |
Big East |
B1G Lead. |
B1G Leg. |
Big 12 | Conf USA East |
Conf USA West |
MAC East |
MAC West |
Mtn West |
PAC12 North |
PAC12 South |
SEC East |
SEC West |
Sun Belt |
WAC |
| 1 | Compu-Picks | 132 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 20 | 8 |
| 2 | Athlon | 134 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 12 |
| 3 | USA Today (glossy) | 134½ | 0 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 9½ | 8½ | 3 | 8 | 9 | 5½ | 8 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| 4 | Phil Steele | 137 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 12 |
| 5 | Lindy's | 139 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 12 |
| 6t | compughterratings.com | 141 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 12 |
| 6t | The Sporting News | 141 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 10 |
| 8t | Arena Fanatic | 142 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 8t | CPA Rankings | 142 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 10 |
| 10 | Football Outsiders | 145 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 12 |
| 11 | College Football Matrix | 146 | 4 | 9½ | 7½ | 5 | 8 | 4½ | 8½ | 7 | 8 | 7½ | 12½ | 4 | 9 | 7½ | 11 | 20½ | 12 |
| 12t | Fort Heresy | 147 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 14 |
| 12t | GamePlan | 147 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 12 |
| 14t | [Conference media polls] | 152 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 12 |
| 14t | Fox Sports Next | 152 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 12 |
| 16t | Blue Ribbon / ESPN | 154 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 12 |
| 16t | Sports Illustrated | 154 | 4 | 9½ | 9 | 11 | 8 | 7½ | 7 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 20 | 12 |
| 18 | CBS Sports | 158 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 12 |
| 19 | McIllece Sports | 159 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 22 | 12 |
| 20 | USA Today (newsprint) | 161½ | 4 | 10½ | 12½ | 10 | 10 | 11½ | 7½ | 4 | 6 | 5½ | 19 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| 21 | CollegeFootballPoll.com | 168 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 22 | 10 |
| Magazines not picking every conference |
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| N/R | PickSixPreviews.com | 153 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | 4 | 12 | - | - |
| N/R | Rivals / Yahoo | 161 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 10 | - | - | - | 7 | 12 | - | - |
| Penalties for skipping prediction (average of others' scores, plus two points): |
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| - | Penalties | - | 5 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 14 |