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USATSI

SEC Media Days wrapped up Thursday in Nashville, which means it's go time for the 2023 season. Credentialed members of the media were asked to pick how they think the 2023 season will pan out, and defending conference champion Georgia has been pegged as the likely winner once again. The Bulldogs, who have won two straight national championships, received a whopping 181 first-place votes. Coach Kirby Smart's squad is also expected to win the SEC East for the third straight season after receiving 265 first-place votes. 

Alabama has been picked to win the SEC West. The Crimson Tide, who have been picked to win the entire conference in each of the last seven seasons, received 62 first-place votes in the race for the top spot in the SEC. Coach Nick Saban's squad received 1,899 overall votes in the SEC West.

Defending SEC West champion LSU won't make its second straight SEC Championship Game, according to the media poll. Brian Kelly's squad, which fell to Georgia in last year's conference title game, received 1,838 total points and 117 first-place votes in the SEC West.

The predicted SEC champion has only won the conference title nine times since the divisional split in 1992.

Here's a look at how the media sees the SEC shaking out in 2023:

TeamFirst-place votes

1. Georgia

181

2. Alabama

62

3. LSU

31

4. Tennessee

5

4. Vanderbilt

5

6. Arkansas2
6. Auburn2
8. Texas A&M1
8: Mississippi State1
8. South Carolina1

Here's the full breakdown of the predicted order of finish for each division. First-place votes are in parenthesis:

EastWest

1. Georgia (265)

1. Alabama (165)

2. Tennessee (14)

2. LSU (117)

3. South Carolina (3)

3. Texas A&M (1)

4. Kentucky (1)

4. Ole Miss

5. Florida

5. Arkansas (3)

6. Missouri

6. Auburn (4)

7. Vanderbilt (8)

7. Mississippi State (1)

The 2023 SEC Championship Game will take place on Saturday, December 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.