The defending SEC champion is expected to retain its crown. Alabama was picked to win the SEC title as the conference released its preseason media poll Friday morning.

The Crimson Tide received 203 votes, while Georgia was the next favorite with 49 votes. Unsurprisingly, both schools were projected to win their respective divisions.

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Alabama was picked to win the SEC Western Division with 1,813 total points, while LSU was second with 1,493. Alabama received 253 first-place votes in the SEC West. Texas A&M was third with 1,268 points.

Georgia was selected to win the SEC Eastern Division with 1,789 points, including 233 first-place votes, while Florida was second with 1,499 points and 21 votes to win the division. Missouri was third with 1,149 total points.

Points were awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale in divisional voting.

Last year the media correctly predicted that Alabama would beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. However, the poll has been far from a lock over the years. The media has predicted the SEC champion just seven times since the poll began in 1992. Alabama has now been picked to win eight of the past 10, but the Crimson Tide only came away with five conference titles over that span. Two of those titles came when the media picked other schools to win.

If Alabama and Georgia do meet again in the SEC Championship Game this season, it will be a rematch of last year’s thriller where the Crimson Tide erased a two-touchdown deficit in the second half to win 35-28 and claim its 27th SEC title.

“The toughest game I played in last year was the Georgia game last year in the SEC Championship,” Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses said. “The reason I say that is because it was a really aggressive game on both sides of the ball. Georgia came with it. We came with it. And I just remember after that game I just felt like I got into a brawl… That was one of the hardest games I’ve ever played in."

The two schools also faced off during the 2018 national championship game as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa rallied Alabama to a 26-23 overtime win. Both contests were played inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will once again be the site of this year’s SEC Championship Game on Dec. 7.

Alabama —203 votes

Georgia — 49

LSU — 3

Mississippi State —1

Tennessee — 1

Florida —1

South Carolina —1

Auburn —1

(1st place votes in parenthesis)

Alabama (253) — 1813 points

LSU (5) — 1,493

Texas A&M — 1,268

Auburn (1) — 1,090

Mississippi State (1) —769

Ole Miss — 504

Arkansas — 343

(1st place votes in parenthesis)

Georgia (233) — 1,789 points

Florida (21) — 1,499

Missouri (3) — 1,149

South Carolina (1) — 883

Tennessee (1) —804

Kentucky (1) — 798

Vanderbilt — 358

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