GEORGIA FAVOURED FOR 2026 SEC TITLE IN PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

Georgia and Texas emerged as the clear favourites for the 2026 college football season in the Southeastern Conference's preseason media poll released on Friday. The Bulldogs received 88 of 164 first-place votes to top the rankings, whilst Texas secured 57 first-place votes for second place. No other team in the poll received more than six votes to finish first in the league.

The two programmes met in the 2024 SEC championship game, which Georgia won 22–19, with both teams subsequently reaching the College Football Playoff. Georgia's regular season also included a victory over Texas in Austin earlier that year. Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU rounded out the top six in the preseason poll, receiving six, three, five and two first-place votes respectively. Kentucky received the single outlier vote.

Lane Kiffin departed Ole Miss for LSU in the off-season after the Rebels reached the College Football Playoff semifinals last year. Ole Miss competed in the postseason without Kiffin and lost to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. The SEC placed five teams in the College Football Playoff in the previous season, though Ole Miss proved the only one to advance to the semifinals.