Preseason Prediction Accuracy (2003-2012)

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

Magazine	Rank	Total Score	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Phil Steele	1	1399½	137	148	125½	140	135½	147½	153	132	125	155
Athlon	2	1415	134	154	119	144	141	135	158	134	147	149
GamePlan	3	1450	147	147	121	132	141	145	174	157	145	141
CPA Rankings	4	1452	142	157	130	137½	136½	141	170½	144	155	138½
Lindy's	5	1458	139	151	115	151	168	137	171	129	148	149
The Sporting News	6	1478	141	174	125	150	154	140	170	145	133	146

This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the ten-year span 2003-2012 ("the last ten years" going into the 2013 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 "2010-2012 (last three years)" table, a "2008-2012 (last five years)" table, and a "1993-2012 (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.