Weather-based model returns for Week 0 after correctly predicting 62% of evaluated game outcomes in 2025

LAKE JACKSON, Texas, Aug. 28, 2026 — SwampButt Underwear has launched the 2026 college football edition of its Scale of Sultry, an unconventional weather and conditioning model that predicts which teams may possess an advantage when heat and humidity become part of the game.

The upgraded Week 0 edition examines seven selected college football games scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29. It provides the expected Scale of Sultry at each stadium and a separate “SwampButt Conditioning Prediction” based on the conditions at each school’s home location.

The premise is straightforward: Players who regularly train in hotter, more humid conditions may be better conditioned to perform when game-day weather becomes sultry, particularly late in a game.

The 2026 Week 0 forecasts and predictions are available at:

https://swampbutt-scale-of-sultry.harold-nicol-4389.chatgpt.site/football

“Most football prediction systems consider talent, coaching, injuries, statistics and recruiting,” said Harold Nicoll, creator of the Scale of Sultry and owner of SwampButt Underwear. “We ignore all of that. The Scale of Sultry looks only at weather, climate and the possibility that one team is better conditioned for hot and humid circumstances than the other.”

The 2025 Results

What began as a humorous marketing experiment produced unexpectedly credible results during the 2025 season. Through Week 12, the Scale of Sultry recorded 44 correct predictions, 27 incorrect predictions and three ties—an accuracy rate of approximately 62%. Those results were reported in the 2025 article, “The SwampButt Underwear ‘Scale of Sultry’ Delivers Surprisingly Accurate Results Through Week 12.”

“Frankly, I did not expect it to work that well,” Nicoll said. “It was created as a promotional idea for an underwear company. But the 2025 results suggested that climate conditioning may deserve more attention as one of the many factors that can influence athletic performance.”

The Scale of Sultry is not intended to compete with established football analytics systems. It does not evaluate rosters, coaching, injuries, point spreads or historical team performance. It isolates one variable—environmental conditioning—and asks whether it might provide one team with an advantage.

What Is New for 2026

The 2026 edition expands and clarifies the original model. The upgraded presentation now includes:

• Automatically updated weather forecasts for the game location at kickoff.
• Air temperature and relative humidity.
• Solar exposure and radiant heat.
• A “Sun-Adjusted Feels Like” temperature.
• A 1-to-10 game-site Sultry Forecast.
• A ranking of the selected games from most to least sultry.
• Kickoff times, stadium locations and television information.
• Separate Scale of Sultry calculations for both schools’ home locations.
• A “SwampButt Conditioning Prediction” favoring the school associated with the higher home-location Scale of Sultry.
• A web based app for smart phones.

Separating the game-site forecast from the team-conditioning comparison is one of the most important improvements. The game-site forecast tells fans how uncomfortable conditions may be at the stadium. The conditioning prediction compares the environmental circumstances associated with the two schools and identifies the team that may be more accustomed to heat and humidity. For games played indoors, the presentation identifies the indoor venue while still reporting relevant outdoor conditions for tailgating, parking and stadium arrival.

A Different Angle for Fans and Media

The Scale of Sultry gives college football fans another way to examine Week 0 matchups while providing sports, weather, fitness and consumer reporters with a timely story angle connecting climate, conditioning and athletic performance. “Week 0 is the first week of collegiate gridiron action we have published, but we will publish a new ‘scale’ every week during the college football season,” Nicoll said.

Fans can use the page to:

• Identify the most uncomfortable games of the week.
• Compare the home-location conditions associated with both teams.
• See which team receives the SwampButt conditioning advantage.
• Follow changing forecasts as kickoff approaches.
• Debate whether climate conditioning actually affects the outcome.

For journalists and broadcasters, the Scale provides a visual, easily explained supplement to conventional game previews—particularly for games involving teams traveling between substantially different climates. “Everyone understands that playing football in heat and humidity is difficult,” Nicoll said. “The more interesting question is whether one team has been living and practicing in those conditions while the other has not. That is the question the Scale of Sultry attempts to answer.”

Scientifically Adjacent, Intentionally Entertaining

The Scale of Sultry is a weather-based novelty prediction and is not a betting recommendation. Forecasts can change, and weather represents only one of many factors that may affect a football game.

The system is intentionally entertaining, but the underlying subject is legitimate. Heat, humidity, solar exposure and the body’s ability to dissipate heat can affect comfort, fatigue and physical performance.

The Scale of Sultry converts those conditions into a simple format that fans can understand without studying meteorological tables or advanced sports analytics.

“If the prediction is correct, we will discuss climate conditioning and the brilliance of the model,” Nicoll said. “If it is wrong, we will remind everyone that we sell underwear.”

About SwampButt Underwear

SwampButt Underwear™ is a real company with a product that helps solve a problem, that being visible sweat on a man’s backside. SwampButt Underwear is for people who experience excessive perspiration, uncomfortable dampness and visible butt sweat. The company’s performance underwear is designed to move moisture away from the skin, dry faster than traditional cotton underwear and reduce the discomfort associated with heat, humidity and physical activity.

SwampButt Underwear is based in Lake Jackson, Texas. SwampButt Underwear™ is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries.

For the 2026 Week 0 Scale of Sultry college football predictions, visit:

https://swampbutt-scale-of-sultry.harold-nicol-4389.chatgpt.site/football

For additional information about SwampButt Underwear, visit:

https://swampbutt.com