HOOVER, Ala. — The Gators may have beaten Georgia and won the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division last year, but it's the Bulldogs who are getting all the attention.
Florida was picked to finish second behind Georgia in the division Friday in a preseason poll of media at SEC media days.
The Gators received 784 points, including seven first-place votes, but the Bulldogs were the division favorite with a total of 923 points and 124 first-place votes.
Defending national champion Alabama was the runaway darling to win not just the Western Division, but also the SEC crown.
EASTERN DIVISION
| Georgia (124) | 923 |
| Florida (7) | 784 |
| Kentucky (2) | 624 |
| Missouri | 555 |
| Tennessee | 362 |
| South Carolina (1) | 355 |
| Vanderbilt | 149 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
WESTERN DIVISION
| Alabama (130) | 932 |
| Texas A&M (1) | 760 |
| LSU (1) | 633 |
| Mississippi (1) | 529 |
| Auburn | 440 |
| Arkansas (1) | 241 |
| Mississippi State | 217 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
SEC CHAMPION
| Alabama | 84 |
| Georgia | 45 |
| Mississippi | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 1 |
| Florida | 1 |
| Kentucky | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
The Crimson Tide fetched 932 total votes and 130 first-place votes to win the West. They also received 84 votes to hoist the SEC trophy in Atlanta this year, compared to Georgia's 45.
Kentucky, which was picked to finish third in the East, and South Carolina, which was predicted to finish second-to-last, were the only other divisional teams to receive first-place votes. The Wildcats received two first-place votes, while the Gamecocks had one.
Alabama beat Florida in a 52-46 shootout to win the SEC Championship game last season. The Gators won the division thanks to a 44-28 victory over the Bulldogs in Jacksonville to snap a three-game losing streak to Georgia.
