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SEC media member picks Vanderbilt to win conference, not division

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

A certain member of the SEC media contingent has some serious explaining to do.

The annual routine of the press picking division and conference winners at the SEC media days event has come and gone, and the results for this year's voting is as follows:

School 1st Place Votes
Alabama 217
Auburn 11
Georgia 6
LSU 3
Florida 3
South Carolina 1
Vanderbilt 1
Arkansas 1

As expected, Alabama demolishes the field with a whopping 217 votes to win the conference, followed by Auburn with 11 and Georgia with six. Then it gets interesting as one intrepid media member gave Vanderbilt a vote to win the conference, something that has never happened in the history of the SEC.

What makes it even more interesting is that the same media member who voted Vanderbilt to win the conference, didn't even vote for it to win the East division. For the uninformed out there, a team has to win its division to qualify for the conference title game and a chance at the championship. That path makes it impossible for Vanderbilt to win the conference without winning the East division.

School Points 1st Place Votes
Georgia 1572 138
Florida 1526 96
Tennessee 998 3
South Carolina 897 5
Kentucky 869 0
Vanderbilt 554 0
Missouri 388 0

The media picked Georgia to win the East, with Florida trailing close behind. Tennessee finished with more total points than South Carolina, but the Gamecocks received two more votes to finish first than the Volunteers.

In the West, Alabama received 225 votes to remain the premier program, with Auburn coming second and LSU rounding out the top three. Arkansas received one first-place vote, which would mark the first time the Razorbacks ever won the SEC.

School Points 1st Place Votes
Alabama 1683 225
Auburn 1329 13
LSU 1262 4
Arkansas 796 1
Texas A&M 722 0
Mississippi State 633 0
Ole Miss 379 0

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