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Missouri picked fourth in SEC East

Barry Odom’s Tigers got zero first-place votes in the SEC East ... but got a vote for conference champion. Okay, sure.

NCAA Football: SEC Football Media Day
Terez Hall
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

SEC Media Days are (finally) over, which can only mean one thing: PRESEASON POLL TIME.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- SEC Football Media Days concluded on Thursday with media in attendance predicting Alabama to win the 2018 SEC Championship.

Alabama received 193 votes to be crowned SEC Champion on December 1 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, while Georgia was second with 69 votes.

Georgia was selected to win the SEC Eastern Division with 1,977 points, including 271 first-place votes, while South Carolina was second with 1,535 points and 8 votes to win the division. Florida was third with 1,441 total points. Points were awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

Alabama was picked to win the SEC Western Division with 1,971 total points, while Auburn was second with 1,664. Alabama received 263 first-place votes in the SEC West. Mississippi State was third with 1,239 points.

It’s been pretty clear for a while how things were going to take shape — Alabama tops in the West, Georgia in the East — but there’s still some jockeying for position beneath the surface. Were voters going to lean toward Auburn or MSU for second in the West? Were they going to lean toward Florida or Mizzou for third in the East?

We have our answers now, and predictably, those further up the historical totem pole got the nod in both cases. Hell, Florida almost got the nod over South Carolina.

SEC East voting

(First-place votes are in parentheses.)

  1. Georgia (271) — 1,977 points
  2. South Carolina (8) — 1,535 points
  3. Florida (4) — 1,441 points
  4. Missouri — 1,057 points
  5. Kentucky (1) — 874 points
  6. Tennessee (1) — 704 points
  7. Vanderbilt — 392 points

Tennessee with a first-place vote. Someone likes living on the edge.

SEC West voting

  1. Alabama (263) — 1,971 points
  2. Auburn (19) — 1,664 points
  3. Mississippi State (2) — 1,239 points
  4. Texas A&M — 1,091 points
  5. LSU — 1,025 points
  6. Ole Miss — 578 points
  7. Arkansas — 412 points

Voters also voted for the overall SEC champion, which always makes for some strange contradictions.

SEC title voting

  1. Alabama (193 votes)
  2. Georgia (69 votes)
  3. Auburn (14 votes)
  4. South Carolina (4 votes)
  5. Florida (2 votes)
  6. Missouri and Mississippi State (1 vote each)

Mizzou got no first-place votes in the East but got a vote for conference champion. This is a totally worthwhile exercise.