Preseason Prediction Accuracy (2008-2012)

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

Magazine	Rank	Total Score	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008
Phil Steele	1	686	137	148	125½	140	135½
GamePlan	2	688	147	147	121	132	141
Athlon	3	692	134	154	119	144	141
CPA Rankings	4	703	142	157	130	137½	136½
USA Today	5	705½	161½	158	108	142	136
Lindy's	6	724	139	151	115	151	168
The Sporting News	7	744	141	174	125	150	154
College Football Poll	8	780	168	179	148	139	146

This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the five-year span 2008-2012 ("the last five 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 "2003-2012 (last ten 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.