The SEC Media Days have come and gone, which means the college football season is just around the corner. The Ole Miss Rebels may not have the stacked roster that they did last season, but the on-site media in Atlanta this week didn't have to disrespect Lane Kiffin and his Ole Miss Rebels the way they did.
Every year, the media who cover media days in person vote on who they believe will both win the conference and how the final standings will look at the end of the season. This year, the results were a bit harsh–at least when it came to Ole Miss.
The full SEC preseason media voting results were released on Friday, and despite the Ole Miss Rebels' recent success they only received one vote to win the conference. This wouldn't be too surprising if it weren't for some of the other results.
Many assumed Texas to be a massive betting favorite to win it all, so earning nearly half the first place votes wasn't surprising. Georgia earning about 20% of the votes as a close second tracks with sports book odds as well. However, after the top few teams, things looked rather strange.
South Carolina earned five votes to win the conference despite having +2700 odds (27 to 1) via most sports books. That's good for the tenth best odds according to those who have significant money on the line. Then both Oklahoma (+2200 odds) and even Vanderbilt (+30000 odds) logged more votes to win the SEC than Ole Miss. Just disrespectful.
Texas is your SEC preseason media favorite.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) July 18, 2025
Vandy got more first-place votes than Tennessee, but Tennessee was picked to finish higher. pic.twitter.com/dXSXMHs01m
Ole Miss Rebels picked to finish seventh in SEC
The predicted order of finish in the conference standings made a little more sense, but Ole Miss still found themselves ranked seventh overall. The SEC media ranked Texas, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, and Florida all ahead of Ole Miss.
That doesn't sound too extreme considering how competitive the conference looks to be this year, but Ole Miss hasn't finished below that mark since Lane Kiffin's first season as head coach in the shortened COVID season when they finished 5-5.
Yes, Ole Miss is going to be replacing significant contributors at key positions this season, but the Rebels still look in great position roster-wise with an extremely manageable schedule.
New starting quarterback Austin Simmons looked dominant in his scoring drive against Georgia and posted over 10 AY/A on his 32 pass attempts last season. He should immediately be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.
Lane Kiffin's top five transfer portal class (yet again) has completely revamped the wide receiver room and the defensive backfield. Ole Miss' talent composite should easily rank inside the top 15 or 20 in the nation once again this year because of it.
The majority of SEC media on site in Atlanta this week may have been fine with disrespecting Ole Miss (as they usually do), but the Rebels look set to prove them wrong in 2025.
We'll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
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