Alabama picked to finish 6th in SEC this year, Georgia predicted champion
TAMPA, Fla. (WBRC) - With the 2026 SEC Football Media Days now in the rearview mirror, attention turns to the future.
The end of the four-day event in Tampa saw media members pick the Georgia Bulldogs to finish first in the Southeastern Conference this season.
Alabama, meanwhile, received just three votes to finish 6th in the preseason prediction poll.
It’s a drop-off from even a year ago after the Crimson Tide was the standard in the SEC for so many years. One of the reasons for that is the high year-over-year turnover the team is facing this season.
The coaching staff in Tuscaloosa has the daunting task of replacing a number of key positions and big names from last year’s team that lost to eventual National Champion Indiana in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal in the Rose Bowl.
Not only is the Tide moving forward without the likes of Kadyn Proctor, Deontae Lawson and Germie Bernard, Kalen DeBoer finds himself overseeing a quarterback battle on the Capstone.
DeBoer said during his appearance at SEC Media Days Wednesday that his team has to go prove themselves on the field - a belief he carries each year.
“Last year we returned I think 16 seniors and we had to go prove it. We had to do some things, not just talk it,” DeBoer said in Tampa. “We had to go decide what we were going to accomplish, decide and commit to the process, commit to what we needed to do to get it done, and then make sure that action supported the goals we had.”
He understands that, until that happens, there will be doubt about his team.
DeBoer once again reiterated in Tampa that he welcomes the challenge, saying a program with high expectations like Alabama is where he has always wanted to coach.
“I love that challenge,” DeBoer said. “I love the internal challenge and the moment of trying to bring a team together to be the best we can be, and I also love the challenge of taking a program and -- you know, one year winning a championship is hard.”
Georgia finds themselves in familiar territory as Kirby Smart leads his team into fall camp.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the conference for the third straight preseason poll after winning the past two SEC championships.
Smart, the league’s longest-tenured coach, said during his appearance on the main stage in Tampa that he’s focused on what wins football games on the field.
It’s the consistency over the past 10-11 years that he is most proud of.
“What we focus on in Georgia is what wins football games, and that’s my passion and energy,” he said. “That’s what we love to do. We love to grind it out, play physical football, be explosive in offense, be explosive in defense by how you create turnovers and how you create sacks.”
Auburn, headed into their first season under head coach Alex Golesh, was picked to finish 12th in the SEC.
SEC predicted order of finish
- Georgia
- Texas
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Florida
- Missouri
- South Carolina
- Auburn
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
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