77th annual SEC post-spring football report: Georgia breaks Alabama’s 10-year grip on top spot

It took a second straight national championship for Georgia to finally knock Alabama off the top of the mountain in the 77th annual SEC post-spring football report, first Published by The Birmingham News in 1947. The Bulldogs were the pick by 12 of the SEC’s 14 football information directors to win the league championship in 2023, in voting compiled by AL.com. The Crimson Tide had been chosen first in the annual survey for the previous 10 years. Alabama is second in this year’s overall preseason rankings and received one first-place vote. LSU is third and received the other first-place vote. Georgia was also a near-unanimous pick to win the SEC East again, receiving six of seven first-place votes (Tennessee got the other). Alabama got five of seven first-place votes in the West, with LSU grabbing the other two (voters could not pick their own team in either the overall or divisional polls). Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are picked to win a second straight SEC title, something they have not done since claiming three straight from 1980-82. Georgia totaled 168 overall points, ahead of Alabama’s 154 and LSU’s 147. Points were awarded in reverse order of voting (13 for first, 12 for second, 11 for third … on down to one point for a 13th-place vote). Again, because voters were instructed to ignore their own teams, there were only 13 votes per ballot. Georgia must replace starting quarterback Stetson Bennett and several other top skill players but returns star tight end Brock Bowers and offensive line stalwarts Sedrick Van Pran and Tate Ratledge. On defense, the Bulldogs bring back defensive lineman Mykel Williams, linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson and a loaded secondary that includes cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safeties Javon Bullard and Malaki Starks. Alabama lost 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, SEC Defensive Player of the Year Will Anderson and eight other players who were selected in the 2023 NFL draft. Top returnees for the Crimson Tide include offensive lineman JC Latham, linebacker Dallas Turner and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. LSU, which won the SEC West last season, has also closed the gap in the preseason rankings. The Tigers return quarterback Jayden Daniels, among others, in Brian Kelly’s second season as head coach. Tennessee was fourth in the overall rankings with 133 points, followed by Ole Miss (107) in fifth. Texas A&M and South Carolina tied for sixth with 88 points. Arkansas begins the “second half” of the poll in eighth place with 80 points, followed by Florida (79), Kentucky (78), Auburn (57), Mississippi State (49), Missouri (33) and Vanderbilt (14). The Commodores were named last on 12 of 13 ballots on which they were eligible. In the SEC East, Georgia was picked to win the division for the seventh straight year. The Bulldogs (36 points) received all six first-place votes for which they were eligible, with Tennessee getting the other. The Volunteers were second with 31 points, while Kentucky and South Carolina tied for third (21 points). Florida (20) was fourth, followed by Missouri (11) and Vanderbilt (7). In the West, Alabama is the pick for the eighth straight year and 14th time in 15 years. Only Auburn in 2015 has broken the Crimson Tide’s preseason string during the Saban glory days (though, in a quirk of voting, Alabama was the pick to win the SEC championship that year). This year, however, Alabama (35 points) got only five of six first-place votes for which it was eligible. LSU (32 points) was picked by two voters to win the West for a second straight year. Ole Miss (22 points) was picked third, ahead of Texas A&M (20), Auburn (17), Arkansas (15) and Mississippi State (6). The Bulldogs were named last on all six ballots. Here’s how the overall SEC voting looked in table form, followed by the SEC East and SEC West: SEC PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total Georgia 12 1 168 Alabama 1 9 3 154 LSU 1 4 6 2 147 Tennessee 4 8 1 133 Ole Miss 7 3 2 1 107 Texas A&M 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 88 South Carolina 2 2 4 2 2 1 88 Arkansas 5 1 2 2 2 1 80 Florida 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 79 Kentucky 2 1 1 3 3 3 78 Auburn 1 2 1 1 3 2 1 2 57 Mississippi State 1 2 1 1 5 3 49 Missouri 2 3 8 33 Vanderbilt 1 12 14 SEC EAST 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Georgia 6 36 Tennessee 1 5 31 Kentucky 1 2 2 1 21 South Carolina 3 3 21 Florida 1 2 1 2 20 Missouri 1 3 2 11 Vanderbilt 1 5 7 SEC WEST 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Alabama 5 1 35 LSU 2 4 32 Ole Miss 4 2 22 Texas A&M 1 2 1 2 20 Auburn 1 3 1 1 17 Arkansas 1 1 4 15 Mississippi State 6 6 COMING THURSDAY: SEC’s 14 football information directors pick their preseason All-SEC team COMING FRIDAY: How the SEC’s football information directors size up the league’s best players