TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
For months, national media and some closer to home have been proclaiming a national championship season, or close to it, for new LSU football coach Lane Kiffin, mainly because of his No. 1, 41-man portal class as well as his $13.5 million salary.
SEC Network analyst Ben Watson went as far as to say this week that Kiffin has to make the national title game in his first season. Others have said, College Football Playoff or bust.
I think this is the first time #LSU fans have had reasonable expectations for their team compared to the rest of the country. https://t.co/nFjspIFr34
— Preston Guy (@PGuy77) July 22, 2026
But a poll of reporters at the SEC Media Days this week in Tampa, Florida, released on Friday has the Tigers tabbed to finish only fifth in the SEC. And the Tigers received only two votes to win the SEC title. National title votes were not taken, but draw your own obvious conclusion.
Georgia was predicted to win the 2026 SEC Championship with 88 votes. The SEC Championship Game is on December 5 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Texas was picked to be the Bulldogs’ opponent in a rematch of the 2024 SEC Championship Game. Texas received 57 votes to win the SEC Championship.
The participants of the SEC Championship Game will be determined during the regular-season conference schedule as the teams with the two best overall SEC winning percentages. The SEC announced in August it would begin playing nine conference games for each school beginning in 2026. Each school will also continue to be required to schedule at least one opponent from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame.
Only 10 times since 1992 (34 years) has the predicted champion prior to the season at SEC Football Media Days proceeded to win the SEC Championship Game.
Preseason Media Poll
| School | Champion Votes |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 88 |
| Texas | 57 |
| Ole Miss | 6 |
| Texas A&M | 5 |
| Alabama | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 2 |
| LSU | 2 |
| Kentucky | 1 |
Predicted Order of Finish
| Rank | School | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 2,519 |
| 2 | Texas | 2,449 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 2,004 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 1,967 |
| 5 | LSU | 1,961 |
| 6 | Alabama | 1,930 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 1,914 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 1,320 |
| 9 | Florida | 1,217 |
| 10 | Missouri | 1,105 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 956 |
| 12 | Auburn | 936 |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | 751 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 546 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 467 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 262 |
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