Preseason Prediction Accuracy (2007-2011)

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

Magazine	Rank	Total Score	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
GamePlan	1t	686	147	121	132	141	145
USA Today	1t	686	158	108	142	136	142
Athlon	3	693	154	119	144	141	135
Phil Steele	4	696½	148	125½	140	135½	147½
CPA Rankings [Web Site]	5	702	157	130	137½	136½	141
Lindy's	6	722	151	115	151	168	137
The Sporting News	7	743	174	125	150	154	140

This page shows the accuracy of preseason magazines' conference predictions for the five-year span 2007-2011 ("the last five years" going into the 2012 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 "2009-2011 (last three years)" table, a "2002-2011 (last ten years)" table, and a "1993-2011 (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.