There should be little doubt who the top two teams in the SEC entering the 2022 season, as Georgia and Alabama were overwhelmingly picked to win their respective divisions by the media in attendance at SEC media days.

Georgia received 172 of 181 first-place votes to remain as the top team in the SEC East. The Bulldogs have won the division in four of the previous five seasons, with 2020 being the lone year Georgia did not represent the division in the SEC championship game.

Related: Brock Bowers, Jalen Carter among the 9 Bulldogs named to Preseason All-SEC teams

Alabama meanwhile received 177 of 181 first-place votes to represent the SEC West. The Crimson Tide have won back-to-back SEC championships and return perhaps the top two players in the sport in Bryce Young and Will Anderson.

Related: Alabama football clearly motivated by National Championship loss to Georgia

Georgia did manage to topple the Crimson Tide when the two teams met in the national championship game at the end of the 2021 season. But the media in attendance expects Alabama to come away with the league title once again, as Alabama received 158 votes to win the league, compared to the 18 Georgia received.

The two teams do not meet during the regular season, but it would be rather surprising if Georgia-Alabama were not the matchup in Atlanta on Dec. 3.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart knows that last season’s national championship puts a bigger bullseye on the team’s back entering this season. The Bulldogs have to replace 15 NFL draft picks from last season, with most of those coming on the defensive side of the ball.

But when Smart spoke to reporters on Wednesday, he projected confidence and hunger for the Bulldogs to go out and do what they did last season.

“People ask the question, How does it feel to be hunted? We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that,” Smart said. “The hunting we do will be from us going the other direction. We’re not going to sit back and be passive about.”

Below you can see the full predicted order of finish for both divisions and the league as well.

SEC East predicted order of finish for 2022 season

  1. Georgia (172)
  2. Kentucky (4)
  3. Tennessee (1)
  4. Florida
  5. South Carolina (3)
  6. Missouri
  7. Vanderbilt (1)

SEC West predicted order of finish for 2022 season

  1. Alabama (177)
  2. Texas A&M (3)
  3. Arkansas (1)
  4. Ole Miss
  5. LSU
  6. Mississippi State
  7. Auburn

SEC predicted champion for 2022 season

  1. Alabama (158)
  2. Georgia (18)
  3. South Carolina (3)
  4. Vanderbilt (1)
  5. Texas A&M (1)

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