Quick Hit: Breaking down the accuracy of the Big 12 preseason media poll

It is a slow time of year in the collegiate sports world and with anticipation growing for the 2016 season we often quench that desire for football with anything we can get our hands on. The Big 12 released its 2016 preseason media poll yesterday and like every year Mountaineer fans chimed in on social media to voice their opinions.

@DaPritt @Blue_GoldSports we have proven better than the 2 teams ahead of us at least. We should be about 5th preseason.

— WVU Optimist (@WVUSPORTSGUY) July 14, 2016

@WVUSPORTSGUY @DaPritt @Blue_GoldSports These polls are hype….if they were accurate we wouldn’t need to play the games, huh? 🏈😝😬😜

— Woody (@WHarpet) July 14, 2016

@Blue_GoldSports My confidence in their ability to predict the standings is lower than their confidence in WVU.

— Jeremy Rice (@jeremyjrice) July 15, 2016

So I decided to dig a little deeper to see just how accurate the polls have been since WVU joined the conference in 2012.

Since 2012 the preseason poll has been 0-4 in predicting the eventual Big 12 champion. As far as the Mountaineers are concerned the poll has ranked WVU higher twice in the preseason (2012, 2013) than they finished at the end of the season and lower twice (2014,2015) than they finished.

Below is a comparison between the Big 12 preseason polls and the final standings at the end of the season from 2012-2015.

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