See "notes" following the table for more information on its contents.
| Magazine | Rank | Total Score |
2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Phil Steele | 1 | 408.1 | 160.1 | 121.5 | 126.5 |
| Pick Six Previews | 2 | 414.6 | 160.1 | 135.5 | 119 |
| ESPN | 3 | 416.9 | 181.9 | 109 | 126 |
| Athlon | 4 | 419.4 | 183.4 | 127 | 109 |
| DRatings.com | 5 | 427.5 | 186 | 127 | 114.5 |
| Sports Formulator | 6 | 434 | 182 | 136.5 | 115.5 |
| Lindy's | 7 | 434.1 | 187.1 | 127 | 120 |
| Street & Smith / The Sporting News | 8 | 434.7 | 181.7 | 134 | 119 |
| McIllece Sports | 9 | 438 | 185.5 | 120 | 132.5 |
| Arena Fanatic | 10 | 443.4 | 178.9 | 132.5 | 132 |
| CollegeFootballPoll.com | 11 | 454 | 196 | 127 | 131 |
| compughterratings.com | 12 | 460.5 | 191 | 140 | 129.5 |
| CollegeFootballNews.com | 13 | 462 | 183 | 130.5 | 148.5 |
This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the three-year span 2018-2020 ("the last three years" going into the 2021 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 "2016-2020 (last five years)" table and a "2011-2020 (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: