Georgia will enter the 2024 season as the predicted SEC champion after the Bulldogs topped the conference’s preseason media poll following SEC Media Days. The Bulldogs edged Texas and Alabama for first place in the survey of media members that comes before a season of change in the conference.
The additions of Oklahoma and Texas makes the SEC a 16-team mega-conference replete with an even greater share of the sport’s top brands. However, the Bulldogs would be a familiar champion after they hoisted the league title trophy in 2021 and 2022.
Alabama knocked UGA off the throne in 2023 with a 27-24 win in the SEC Championship Game. But with the Crimson Tide undergoing a coaching transition from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer, the Bulldogs received the nod from those assembled in Dallas this week.
If Georgia is going to reclaim the top spot in the SEC, it will be required to navigate a schedule that is tougher than its 2023 slate. The SEC has scrapped its former divisional format in favor of combined standings. As a result, the Bulldogs face a tougher path than in past years when they could feast on a buffet of middling SEC East programs. Among their top challenges in 2024 are road games against Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss, each of whom are expected to be preseason top-10 teams.
Here’s a look at how the media sees the SEC shaking out in 2024 (first-place votes in parenthesis):
| Team | Votes |
|---|---|
|
Georgia |
3,330 (165) |
|
Texas |
3,041 (27) |
|
Alabama |
2,891 (12) |
|
Ole Miss |
2,783 (4) |
|
2,322 (2) |
|
| Missouri | 2,240 |
| Tennessee | 2,168 |
| Oklahoma | 2,022 |
| Texas A&M | 1,684 |
| Auburn | 1,382 |
| Kentucky | 1,371 |
| Florida | 1,146 |
| South Carolina | 923 (1) |
| Arkansas | 749 |
| Mississippi State | 623 |
| Vanderbilt | 293 (2) |
The predicted SEC champion has only won the conference title nine times since the divisional split in 1992.
