Forget about polls, crystal balls and other scientific methods used to predict the outcome of Tuesday's presidential race. Instead, go with the Redskins Rule.


The Washington Redskins have played in the nation's capital since 1937, when they moved there from Boston. The NFL team's fortunes have gone up and down over the years. However, the Skins are unmatched in the world of professional sports when it comes to one thing: Indicating who will win presidential elections.


It works like this. When the Redskins win their final home game before the election, the man in the Oval Office gets four more years. If the Skins lose, the challenger gets the victory and the incumbent is out on his ear. The only time the rule didn't work was in 2004, when George W. Bush knocked off John Kerry after a Skins loss to Green Bay. But otherwise, it has a 94.8 percent accuracy rate.


Yesterday, the Redskins played at home. They faced the Carolina Panthers, which had lost five games in a row. President Obama couldn't have asked for a better set-up. Yet quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers -- not the government -- built a 21-6 fourth quarter lead. They held on to win 21-13.


Mitt Romney may be spending Monday barnstorming through the swing states. But if the Redskins Rule is accurate, he's wasting his time. He should be working on his acceptance speech.

arolina Panthers fans are likely pretty pleased with their team's ability to win for the first time since Week 2, but one man is likely even happier.

History dictates that the Panthers 21-13 victory over the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field bodes well for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In the 18 presidential elections that have taken place since the Redskins moved to Washington in 1937, 17 have been predicted by the team's performance in its final home game prior to the election.

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If the Redskins win at home, the incumbent party usually wins the presidential election. If the Redskins lose at home, the challenger usually prevails.

The only time the rule hasn't come through was in 2004, when the Packers beat the Redskins 28-14 in the final game before the election. Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau, who popularized the rule, claims that while that result should have meant that challenger John Kerry would have won the White House, it still holds true because the Democrats actually won the popular vote in the 2000 election.

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Sounds like Hirdt was trying to hedge his bets on that one, but the rule's overall track record is still pretty impressive. Given that our most recent USA TODAY poll has the candidates neck and neck in key swing states, the Redskins rule seems about as credible a theory as the hundreds of other election prognostications we've heard in the past week. The good thing is we should all know for sure on Wednesday.