Our Picks For The Champions
The 2023 SEC Media Days is the last one for the current version of the league. If for some reason you hadn’t heard Oklahoma and Texas are coming from the Big 12 in 2024. In addition, next year the league won’t have divisions just 16 teams battling it out for a trip to Atlanta. But we’ll worry about that next year as it’s time to focus on the current. We polled a panel of 12 of our writers here at Last Word to get their predictions for the East, the West, and the overall champion. The tabulations are based on inverse math, with a point for a first-place ballot, two for second, and so on. Like golf, a low score is what you want. It means there was at least a near consensus of voters expecting you to still be playing meaningful games in December. Who got the nod? Let’s find out with our Last Word 2o23 SEC Predictions.
Beast Of The East
Our picks for the SEC East wound up as follows:
Team First Place Votes Total Points
- Georgia (12) 12
- Tennessee 29
- South Carolina 38
- Kentucky 48
- Florida 59
- Missouri 72
- Vanderbilt 80
The Team To Beat
To no one’s surprise, Georgia got every first-place vote in the East. Kirby Smart’s club is going for the first national title three-peat since Minnesota did it from 1934-36. With Stetson Bennett gone the starting quarterback job is up for grabs. As it stands right now junior Carson Beck has the upper hand over sophomore Brock Vandagriff.
Looking To Play Spoiler
Under Josh Heupel the Tennessee Volunteers had a special year going 11-2, making it to number one and easily beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Joe Milton is back under center and UT was a solid runner-up in our rankings. They placed second on seven ballots and no lower than third on the others.
South Carolina finished strong and looks to carry that momentum into 2023. They came in second on two ballots, third on six, and fourth on four. Kentucky brought back offensive coordinator Liam Coen and added Devin Leary, arguably the quarterback in the transfer portal. However, that wasn’t enough to sway our voters. The Cats were all over the place ranking as high as second on one ballot and as low as sixth.
Work To Do
We said this last year but it’s really odd seeing Florida picked so low in the SEC. The Gators placed fifth on nine of 12 ballots and sixth on two others. For all of the talk about Missouri making big gains in 2023 it didn’t register with our voters. In fact, Eli Drinkwitz’s club was picked last on four ballots and sixth on six more. Vanderbilt landed at the bottom on eight of 12 ballots, up significantly from last year when they were last on every one of the ballots.
Continuing on with our Last Word 2023 SEC Predictions let’s head out west where things are very interesting.
Two Team Race
Our SEC West picks yielded some surprising results.
Team First Place Votes Total Points
- Alabama (6) 18
- LSU (6) 18
- Texas A&M 45
- Ole Miss 46
- Arkansas 62
- Mississippi State 72
- Auburn 74
Breaking It Down
A season ago, LSU was picked fifth in the pre-season. They of course went on to capture the west and this year Brian Kelly’s club starts at the top. The Tigers got six first-place votes, tying them with Alabama, who also had six. Both clubs were no lower than second on any ballot so we have a tie heading into 2023.
Much like Georgia the Crimson Tide have questions at quarterback. Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe competed in the spring. However, Nick Saban brought in former Notre Dame signal called Tyler Buchner to compete in the fall. LSU on the other hand has no QB controversy as Jayden Daniels is the man in Baton Rouge. Time will tell if 2022 was a one-year deal or if LSU is here to stay.
Behind Alabama and LSU, the next two were very close. Texas A&M and Ole Miss placed third on half the ballots. However, the Aggies had more fourth-place finishes than the Rebels so they edged them out for third. Even with his reported $77 million buy out would Jimbo Fisher survive into 2024 coming in third, especially if it’s a distant one?
Trying To Break Through
Arkansas has one of the best players in the league in quarterback K.J. Jefferson. However that alone didn’t help them in our rankings as they placed fifth. Behind them, two teams with new coaches start at the bottom. Zack Arnett takes over at Mississippi State following the death of long-time coach Mike Leach. Hugh Freeze, who is no stranger to media days from his years at Ole Miss, is the new coach at Auburn. Can one of these three teams pull an LSU and rise to the top in 2023? We’ll soon find out. As we wrap up our Last Word 2023 SEC Predictions it’s time to see who wins the overall title.
The SEC Champion Is?
Of our Last Word panel, four picked Georgia over LSU in a rematch of last year’s game. Two chose the Bulldogs over Alabama while one picked the Crimson Tide over Georgia. Finally, one writer has LSU beating Georgia. We’ll find out who, if anyone, got it correct in December.
Thanks for checking out our Last Word 2023 SEC Predictions. Who are your picks for the SEC East, West, and overall champion? Leave your picks in the comment section below.
Photo courtesy: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
