HOW ACCURATE IS THE EARLY BIRD PREVIEW? Extremely accurate

When measuring the Early Bird Preview that comes out every season, how close have we come to predicting what the AP Poll releases in August? Very close! In five of the last eight years, the Early Bird Preview has nailed 9 out of the Top 10 teams. The two aspects that change the poll are players that declare early for the NFL and the bowl game results. But neither has proven to drastically change the rankings. So scoff away at this poll being way too early, but the precision is well reflected. The depth charts are extremely accurate (we even log the number of starts for each player) and this is what makes the predicting so easy.

 

2004
(9 out of 10)

2004 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Oklahoma
2. Georgia
3. Southern California
4. Louisiana State
5. Texas
6. Florida State
7. Miami FL
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. Tennessee

Official 2004 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Southern California
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Louisiana State
5. Florida State
6. Miami FL
7. Texas
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. West Virginia

2005
(9 out of 10)

2005 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Southern California
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Louisiana State
5. Oklahoma
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Miami FL
9. Tennessee
10. Auburn

Official 2005 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Southern California
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Louisiana State
6. Ohio State
7. Oklahoma
8. Virginia Tech
9. Miami FL
10. Florida
   

2006
(6 out of 10)

2006 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Texas
2. Southern California
3. Notre Dame
4. Ohio State
5. Louisiana State
6. Miami FL
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oregon
9. Florida
10. Michigan

Official 2006 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. Auburn
5. West Virginia
6. Southern California
7. Florida
8. Louisiana State
9. California
10. Oklahoma

2007
(9 out of 10)

2007 Early Bird Preview
Released in November
1. Southern California
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Louisiana State
5. Oklahoma
6. Florida
7. West Virginia
8. Louisville
9. Virginia Tech
10. Texas
(Dark Horse Pick - South Florida)

Official 2007 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Southern California
2. Louisiana State
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. Florida
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville
   

2008
(8 out of 10)

2008 Early Bird Preview
Released in December
1. Ohio State
2. Oklahoma
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Southern California
6. Missouri
7. Louisiana State
8. Virginia Tech
9. Kansas
10. Clemson
(Dark Horse Pick - Ball State)

Official 2008 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Southern California
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. Missouri
7. Louisiana State
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Auburn

2009
(9 out of 10)

2009 Early Bird Preview
Released in December
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Southern California
5. Alabama
6. Oklahoma State
7. Ohio State
8. Mississippi
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisiana State

Official 2009 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Southern California
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi
9. Oklahoma State
10. Penn State
   

2010
(8 out of 10)

2010 Early Bird Preview
Released in December
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. TCU
8. Iowa
9. Nebraska
10. Wisconsin

Official 2010 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Florida
5. Texas
6. TCU
7. Oklahoma
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa
10. Virginia Tech

2011
(9 out of 10)

2011 Early Bird Preview
Released in December
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Oregon
5. Stanford
6. Boise State
7. Ohio State
8. Oklahoma State
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State

Official 2011 AP Poll
Released in August
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Louisiana State
5. Boise State
6. Florida State
7. Stanford
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma State
10. Nebraska