The Ole Miss landing spot on the SEC Preseason Media Poll is unsurprising

We knew it was coming at some point today, but the SEC Preseason Media Poll did precisely what we expected and caused controversy. One thing that might have been guaranteed was Georgia landing at No. 1, with the order of finish much closer than expected.

Before we get to Georgia, you may ask, where did Ole Miss land? Where most expected, at the No. 4 spot. They were predicted to be anywhere from the three to the five spots, landing behind Alabama at three and ahead of LSU at five.

Regarding the predicted order of finish in the conference, Georgia received 3330 points, with Texas in second with 3041 points. Alabama and Ole Miss were close in points, with the Rebels piped to third spot by Alabama.

Everybody predicted Vanderbilt would hold up the rear, with Ole Miss's rivals, Mississippi State, just above with 623 votes. Another expected position was Florida, who finished in the bottom five teams in the SEC.

Considering their favorable schedule, Missouri's ranking at No. 6 was a bit surprising. Are the media expecting a drop-off for Eli Drinkwitz's team?

Despite Alabama's change of guards, the media still expects the machine to be well-oiled as they head into year one with head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Voting for the SEC Champion has humorous results

Despite the close results between Georgia and Texas in the final predicted SEC standings, the result of who the media believed would be the conference champion was not. Georgia received a whopping 165 votes to Texas's 27, meaning the press believes if Georgia gets to the SEC Championship game, they will likely win it.

Scrolling through the SEC Champion votes, you might have had to double-take. No, you did see Vanderbilt receive two votes to win the SEC in 2024. It's humorous but unrealistic, with it likely being two media representatives from Vandy looking to add some humor to the vote.

Ole Miss received four votes to be an SEC Champion, with those potentially coming from Rebel media personnel. However, this year, that can be much more believable than previously.