Media picks Alabama to win 2016 SEC Championship, Auburn sixth in SEC West

The annual media poll predicting the standings in the SEC was released following the conclusion of the conference’s media days Thursday afternoon.

Alabama was picked to finish first in the SEC West with 2,167 points and 246 of the 331 first-place votes ahead of LSU (1,984 points) and Ole Miss (1,479). Points were award on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

The Crimson Tide was also voted as the SEC’s overall favorite with 223 votes. LSU finished second in the vote for SEC Champion (59 votes) with Tennessee coming in third (29 votes).

Tennessee was selected as the favorite in the SEC East with 2,167 points and 225 first place votes with Florida in second (1891 points) and Georgia in third (1860 points).

Last year, Alabama was picked as the favorite in the SEC West, but an Auburn that went on to finish 7-6 received the most votes as SEC Champion. This year’s Auburn team was predicted to finish second to last in the SEC West ahead of only Mississippi State.

The media has only accurately predicted the winner of the conference five times since 1992.

The preseason All-SEC team will be announced Friday.