Kentucky finished in a tie for 2nd in the SEC East last year, but a promising end to the season and several returning starters wasn’t enough to earn them respect from the SEC media. The pundits voted Kentucky to finish FIFTH in the SEC East this season, behind Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
EASTERN DIVISION (1st Place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Points |
| Georgia (138) | 1572 |
| Florida (96) | 1526 |
| Tennessee (3) | 998 |
| South Carolina (5) | 897 |
| Kentucky | 869 |
| Vanderbilt | 554 |
| Missouri | 388 |
I can understand picking South Carolina over the Cats, but Tennessee?