FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has been picked to finish last in the SEC West in the coming football season by league media.
The Razorbacks finished with 412 voting points, well behind sixth-place Ole Miss' 578 points. The points are awarded based on order of finish on each ballot, where a first-place vote is worth seven points and a seventh-place vote is worth one point.
"Whether we're picked to finish first or finish last is irrelevant at this point in time," Arkansas coach Chad Morris said Tuesday. "The way I look at it, nobody's played a snap yet. There's a lot to prove."
Arkansas' predicted finish is based on a number of variables, including a first-year coach, a 1-7 league record a year ago and an unknown starting quarterback.
"I understand media will want to say we picked you last, and I don't blame you guys," offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt said. "We went 4-8, and we ... had a complete coaching change. Of course people would rank us as being lower."
Alabama received 263 of 284 first-place votes to win the division and was an overwhelming favorite to defeat Georgia for the SEC championship. Auburn was predicted to finish second in the West, followed by Mississippi State, Texas A&M and LSU.
Auburn received 19 first-place votes and Mississippi State received two votes to win the division.
In the SEC East, Georgia received 271 of 285 first-place votes. South Carolina was predicted to finish runner-up, followed by Florida, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Arkansas is scheduled to play the media's sixth-place SEC West team, Ole Miss, in Little Rock on Oct. 13 and last-place East pick Vanderbilt in Fayetteville on Oct. 27.
The Razorbacks had no players on the preseason All-SEC first team. Offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt was chosen to the second team, and linebacker De'Jon Harris and safety Santos Ramirez were picked for the third team.
Only Tennessee (1) and Vanderbilt (0) had fewer players on the All-SEC teams.
Alabama led all teams with 13 players on the All-SEC teams, including seven on the first team. Georgia had 12.
Predicted Orders of Finish
(First-Place Votes)
SEC West
Alabama 1971 (263)
Auburn 1664 (19)
Mississippi State 1239 (2)
Texas A&M 1091
LSU 1025
Ole Miss 578
Arkansas 412
SEC East
Georgia 1977 (271)
South Carolina 1535 (8)
Florida 1441 (4)
Missouri 1057
Kentucky 874 (1)
Tennessee 704 (1)
Vanderbilt 392
All-SEC First Team
Offense
QB Drew Lock, Missouri
RB Damien Harris, Alabama
RB Benny Snell Jr., Kentucky
WR A.J. Brown, Ole Miss
WR Deebo Samuel, South Carolin
TE Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri
OL Jonah Williams, Alabama
OL Greg Little, Ole Miss
OL Martez Ivey, Florida
OL Trey Smith, Tennessee
C Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama
Defense
DL Raekwon Davis, Alabama
DL Cece Jefferson, Florida
DL Montez Sweat, Mississippi State
DL Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State
LB Devin White, LSU
LB Anfernee Jennings, Alabama
LB Mack Wilson, Alabama
DB Deandre Baker, Georgia
DB Greedy Williams, LSU
DB J.R. Reed, Georgia
DB Deionte Thompson, Alabama