Where Vanderbilt football was ranked in preseason SEC media poll

Vanderbilt football was picked to finish 13th in the SEC’s preseason media poll and did not land any players on the preseason All-SEC team.

The Commodores, with 751 vote points, were picked to finish ahead of Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State, three teams that are on their 2026 schedule. Auburn, another team on the schedule, was picked to finish 12th.

In 2025, Vanderbilt finished tied for fifth in the SEC with a 6-2 conference record, but the Commodores are losing Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia and All-American tight end Eli Stowers, instead bringing in 5-star freshman Jared Curtis. The SEC will also be going to a nine-game schedule in 2026.

Vanderbilt also did not receive any votes to win the SEC in the poll voted on by media members at SEC media days in Tampa, Florida. Georgia and Texas were the league’s two favorites.

1. Georgia (2519 points)

2. Texas (2449)

3. Ole Miss (2004)

4. Texas A&M (1967)

5. LSU (1961)

6. Alabama (1930)

7. Oklahoma (1914)

8. Tennessee (1320)

9. Florida (1217)

10. Missouri (1105)

11. South Carolina (956)

12. Auburn (936)

13. Vanderbilt (751)

14. Kentucky (546)

15. Mississippi State (467)

16. Arkansas (262)

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Where Vanderbilt football was ranked in preseason SEC media poll