Preseason Prediction Accuracy (2007-2009)

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

Magazine	Rank	Total Score	2009	2008	2007
CPA Rankings [Web Site]	1	415	137½	136½	141
Game Plan	2	418	132	141	145
Surefire Scouting [Web Site]	3	419½	134½	134½	150½
Athlon	4t	420	144	141	135
USA Today	4t	420	142	136	142
Sports Illustrated	6	422½	133	139	150½
Phil Steele's	7	423	140	135½	147½
Southern College Sports [Web Site]	8	438½	148½	150	140
The Sporting News	9	444	150	154	140
Lindy's	10	456	151	168	137
Gold Sheet	11	457	160	143	154
College Football News [Web Site]	12	458	145½	160½	152

This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the three-year span 2007-2009 ("the last three years" going into the 2010 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 "2005-2009 (last five years)" table, a "2000-2009 (last ten years)" table, and a "1993-2009 (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.