Georgia picked to win SEC ahead of Texas and Alabama in preseason media poll

Will Texas play in the SEC title game in its first season in the conference?

The Longhorns were voted to finish second in the SEC behind Georgia in the conference’s annual preseason media poll released Friday. The Bulldogs received the vast majority of first-place votes; 165 voters picked Georgia to win. Texas was second with 27 first-place votes ahead of Alabama with 12 and Ole Miss with four.

Vanderbilt got two first-place votes in a tradition that seems to continue every year. There’s always a couple media members who like to vote for the Commodores even though they enter the season as the favored team to finish last.

Based on the number of voting points, media members are convinced the top four teams in the conference will be the Bulldogs, Longhorns, Crimson Tide and Rebels. After that, things are close from fifth through eighth. LSU was picked fifth, just ahead of Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Just 300 points separate LSU and Oklahoma in fifth and eighth. Over 400 points separate Ole Miss in fourth from LSU.

If Georgia is going to win the SEC, it needs to navigate a schedule that’s one of the toughest in the conference. Georgia visits each of the three teams picked to finish directly behind it in the conference.

Georgia QB and Heisman co-favorite Carson Beck was picked as the first-team All-SEC QB ahead of Texas’ Quinn Ewers on the second team and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe on the third team. Georgia RB Trevor Etienne — a Florida transfer — is also a first-team selection as the Bulldogs have six players voted first-team All-SEC ahead of the season.

1. Georgia (3,340 points)

2. Texas (3,041)

3. Alabama (2,891)

4. Ole Miss (2,783)

5. LSU (2,322)

6. Missouri (2,240)

7. Tennessee (2,168)

8. Oklahoma (2,022)

9. Texas A&M (1,684)

10. Auburn (1,382)

11. Kentucky (1,371)

12. Florida (1,146)

13. South Carolina (923)

14. Arkansas (749)

15. Mississippi State (623)

16. Vanderbilt (293)