Georgia coach Kirby Smart, left, speaks with Alabama coach Nick Saban before the SEC title game last December in Atlanta.Alabama and Georgia have played three classic football games this decade in Atlanta.
A fourth such occasion would not come by surprise.
Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are the overwhelming picks to win their divisions this season in the Southeastern Conference. The league office revealed voting results Friday, which came on the heels of the SEC Media Days that transpired Monday through Thursday in Hoover, Alabama. The picks are based on a poll of 260 media voters.
Though Alabama and Georgia have played just once this decade in the regular season – the Crimson Tide rolled to a 38-10 triumph in Athens in 2015 – their Atlanta showdowns have created a rivalry that was discussed with regularity this week.
HOW THEY SEE IT
Predicted finish for 2019 Southeastern Conference football by divisions, based on a poll of 260 voters at SEC Media Days; first-place votes listed in parentheses.EASTSchool PointsGeorgia (233) 1,789Florida (21) 1,499Missouri (3) 1,149South Carolina (1) 883Tennessee (1) 804Kentucky (1) 798Vanderbilt 358WESTSchool PointsAlabama (253) 1,813LSU (5) 1,493Texas A&M 1,268Auburn (1) 1,090Mississippi State (1) 769Ole Miss 504Arkansas 343SEC CHAMPIONAlabama 203Georgia 49LSU 3Auburn 1Florida 1Mississippi State 1South Carolina 1Tennessee 1