Georgia might be the defending national champion but Alabama won the SEC title last season and the media believes the Crimson Tide will do it again.
The Alabama football team didn’t achieve all of its goals last season, but the Crimson Tide did win the SEC championship.
It’s often forgotten because Georgia knocked off Alabama in the National Championship Game, but Bama is the defending SEC champs and according to the preseason media poll, the Crimson Tide are the heavy favorite to win it again.
Among the voters that attended the SEC Media Days, Alabama football received 158 votes to win the SEC championship during the 2022 season, while Georgia, the defending national champion, got 18.
South Carolina got three votes, Texas A&M got one and someone clearly testing everyone to see if they were paying attention voted for Vanderbilt.
I assume it was intentional or maybe a real issue of voter error, who knows but it’s hard to see anybody voting for Vanderbilt in good faith.
In terms of the division votes, Alabama got 177 votes in the West. A&M was second with three followed by Arkansas with one. That was the top three predicted finish in order followed by LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Auburn.
Georgia got 172 votes to be the SEC East champion, while Kentucky got four, South Carolina got three, and both Tennessee and Vanderbilt each had one.
The predicted order in the East was Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.
Why Alabama football makes sense as the favorite and other thoughts
Alabama is the heavy favorite and it makes sense due to the losses Georgia suffered on defense. However, Stetson Bennett is back and the Bulldogs still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball.
UGA should be able to beat most teams, but it took an all-time great defense for it to unseat Alabama, can it replicate that in 2022?
It remains to be seen but with Bryce Young and Will Anderson, arguably the best offensive and defensive players in the SEC (and the nation) on the same Alabama roster, it’s not hard to see why the Crimson Tide are the favorite.
Nick Saban doesn’t hurt either.
It’s kind of startling to see Alabama rival Auburn picked last in the West but it makes sense. The division is loaded from top to bottom, especially with Lane Kiffin having Ole Miss on the rise.
Bryan Harsin better hope that prediction doesn’t come true though, otherwise, he won’t be able to fend off another attempt to get him ousted from the head coaching position.
Another thought is that none of the first-year head coaches are expected to have an impact on the championship race as Florida and LSU are each projected outside the top three in their divisions.
The 2022 season also provides teams like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky to have the best seasons they’ve had in a long time, as well as the chance for A&M to prove it’s the real deal.
There are plenty of interesting storylines but the biggest takeaway is that Alabama, the two-time champ, is the heavy favorite until someone proves otherwise.