Poll: Who is the favorite in the SEC East?

Before the 2015 college football season began, the general consensus was that the SEC East came down to two contenders. Georgia, with an improved defense and Nick Chubb leading the offense, was considered the heavy favorite. Tennessee, after an impressive run to end 2014 and Heisman dark horse Joshua Dobbs running the show, was perceived to be the only real threat to Georgia in winning the SEC East.

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There was no real consensus on how the rest of the teams were expected to finish. At the SEC Media Days the projected order of finish was:

1. Georgia (166), 1,498 points
2. Tennessee (36), 1,231 points
3. Missouri (20), 1,196 points
4. South Carolina (1), 830 points
5. Florida (1), 768 points
6. Kentucky (1), 534 points
7. Vanderbilt, 243 points

Just so we’re all on the same page . . . Missouri and South Carolina were considered to be more of a threat to win the SEC East than current leader Florida. Sure we can still understand why Georgia and Tennessee were considered the preseason favorites. But with hindsight being 20/20 and the recent retirement of Steve Spurrier and the dysfunction that is the 2015 Missouri Tigers, it is difficult to comprehend how these teams were favored over the #8 (AP)/ 11 (Coaches) Florida Gators.

Just when it looked like the Gators had become the prohibitive favorite, however, Will Grier was suspended for a full calendar year. While this leads to several questions concerning Grier and the Florida program, the immediate impact is that it potentially throws the SEC East into complete turmoil. Can Florida continue winning with Treon Harris at quarterback? Or should a new team be favored to win the SEC East?

Before we can answer that, let’s first look at the standings.

2015 SEC East Standings

Standing/Team/Overall Record/Conference Record

1. Florida 6-0 (4-0)

2. Kentucky 4-1 (2-1)

3. Georgia 4-2 (2-2)

4. Missouri 4-2 (2-2)

5. Tennessee 3-3 (1-2)

6. Vanderbilt 2-3 (0-2)

7. South Carolina 2-4 (0-4)

The only team that is truly mathematically eliminated from contention is South Carolina. And we’re not even going to consider Vanderbilt as a favorite. Any of the other 5 teams could, conceivably, have a chance at winning the SEC East in 2015. But for the sake of argument, we’re going to limit this poll to the top 3 teams. The biggest factor in eliminating Missouri and Tennessee with two losses is that they have both already sustained losses to undefeated Florida. With Florida having already won 4 conference games, it would be futile to list Missouri and Tennessee as favorites.

But . . .we will go ahead and list an “other” category. If you really feel Tennessee and/or Missouri have a shot, cast your vote there.

Next: Impact of Nick Chubb's injury on Leonard Fournette's Future

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