Vandy at 1,000 to 1?? Gauging how SEC preseason media poll lines up with conference odds.

The Southeastern Conference released its preseason media poll Friday morning, with few surprises: Alabama and Georgia were voted in as favorites to win the West and East divisions, respectively, and the rest of the SEC’s usual suspects were near the top.

That matches up with the futures market at Caesars Sportsbook, official odds partner of Bet.NOLA.com, at least to an extent.

However, at least one voter in the preseason poll sprung a big surprise, taking Vanderbilt to win the East Division and the entire SEC. At Caesars, that gamble would pay off to the tune of 1,000-to-1, meaning a $1,000 bet would make a million dollars.

South Carolina also received three votes (out of 181) to win the conference. If the Gamecocks pull that off, it would pay 100-to-1 for bettors.

The media’s votes were much more in line with the odds at the top of the board. Both Alabama and Georgia are -500 favorites to win their divisions, the lowest number for any division or conference in the country.

If anything, the media made the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide even more overwhelming favorites than the oddsmakers. In the West Division, Alabama received 177 of a possible 181 first-place votes; Georgia garnered 172 in the East.

As for the SEC champion, Alabama received an overwhelming 158 votes to Georgia’s 18. The Tide is indeed the conference favorite, but not by nearly such a commanding margin. Alabama is -140 to win the league, while the reigning national champion Bulldogs are +140.

In addition to the surprise votes for South Carolina and Vandy, the only other championship vote went to Texas A&M. The odds agree with that viewpoint, as the Aggies (+1600) are the only other team with better than 40-to-1 odds to win the conference (Tennessee, Kentucky and Ole Miss all come in at that number, with Arkansas, LSU and Florida at 50-to-1).

The second-place choice by the media in each division also lines up with the second-best odds: Kentucky got four first-place votes and was chosen second in the East and has +900 odds to win the division. In the West, Texas A&M has three first-place votes and +650 odds, the clear second choice in that division according to the odds.

After that, there is a small split. Arkansas was chosen third by the media in the West and received the final first-place vote, but it’s Ole Miss at +1600 that is a close third choice in the odds. The Razorbacks come in next at +1800.

The rest of the West lines up the same in both the media poll and the odds: LSU fifth (+2800), Mississippi State sixth (+4000) and Auburn seventh (+7500).

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In the East, Tennessee was chosen third with one first-place vote and has +1100 odds, a narrow third choice over Florida, which is +1300 and also the media’s fourth-place pick.

But the bottom of the East Division is where it gets a bit haywire. The bottom three — South Carolina, Missouri and Vanderbilt — do indeed have the three longest odds, but at least some media members give these long shots a chance.

South Carolina received three first-place votes, even though the Gamecocks face long 30-to-1 odds to win the division at Caesars. And Vanderbilt’s shocking first-place vote would be a 500-to-1 payday for anyone gutsy enough to bet on it.

Here is the list of conference favorites according to the preseason media poll and how they compare with the oddsmakers’ view at Caesars:

West Division  Team   Media prediction   Odds  Odds prediction   Alabama   First (177 first-place votes)   -500  First  Texas A&M   Second (3)  +650  Second  Arkansas  Third (1)  +1800   Fourth  Ole Miss  Fourth  +1600  Third  LSU  Fifth  +2800  Fifth  Mississippi State   Sixth  +4000  Sixth  Auburn  Seventh  +7500  Seventh East Division  Team  Media prediction   Odds    Odds prediction   Georgia   First (172)  -500  First  Kentucky   Second (4)  +900  Second  Tennessee   Third (1)  +1100   Third  Florida  Fourth  +1300  Fourth  South Carolina   Fifth (3)  +3000  Fifth  Missouri  Sixth  +5000  Sixth  Vanderbilt  Seventh (1)  +50000   Seventh SEC champion Team    Media votes  Odds  Odds ranking   Alabama   158  -140   First  Georgia  18  +140   Second  South Carolina   3  +10000   tied 10th  Texas A&M  1  +1600  Third  Vanderbilt  1  +100000   14th  Tennessee  0  +4000  tied fourth  Ole Miss  0  +4000  tied fourth  Kentucky  0  +4000  tied fourth  Arkansas  0  +5000  tied seventh  LSU  0  +5000  tied seventh  Florida  0  +5000  tied seventh  Mississippi State   0  +10000  tied 10th  Auburn  0  +12500  12th  Missouri  0  +30000  13th

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