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Here's how unpredictable the SEC has been over the last decade

We compared the media's preseason predictions to the full standings from each season.

Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

On Thursday, the assembled media in Hoover wrapped up the week by releasing its annual preseason predictions for the SEC standings. If you've read literally anything about those predictions, you already know that they're almost always wrong — since the SEC introduced a conference championship game 24 years ago, the media has accurately predicted the winner just five times.

Year Preseason pick Result Actual SEC champ
2015 Auburn 7th (West) Alabama
2014 Alabama SEC Champs Alabama
2013 Alabama t-1st (West) Auburn
2012 LSU t-2nd (West) Alabama
2011 Alabama 2nd (West) LSU
2010 Alabama 4th (West) Auburn
2009 Florida SEC runners-up Alabama
2008 Florida SEC Champs Florida
2007 LSU SEC Champs LSU
2006 Auburn t-2nd (West) Florida
2005 Tennessee 5th (East) Georgia
2004 Georgia 2nd (East) Auburn
2003 Auburn 3rd (West) LSU
2002 Tennessee 3rd (East) Georgia
2001 Florida 2nd (East) LSU
2000 Alabama t-5th (West) Florida
1999 Tennessee 2nd (East) Alabama
1998 Florida 2nd (East) Tennessee
1997 Florida t-2nd (East) Tennessee
1996 Tennessee 2nd (East) Florida
1995 Florida SEC Champs Florida
1994 Florida SEC Champs Florida
1993 Alabama SEC runners-up Florida
1992 Florida SEC runners-up Alabama

That table is from SB Nation's Christian D'Andrea, who also notes...

In fact, just spamming "Alabama" or "Florida" every year would have a better success rate (5-19) than the media's current picks. Since 1996, only four of the league's favorites in July went on to play in the SEC Championship Game. In four other instances, the preseason favorite failed to finish in the top half of its division.

So yea, we know the media ain't great at forecasting the championship game. But what about the rest of its picks? How much stock, for example, should we put into this year's projection of Ole Miss finishing third in the West behind Bama and LSU?

To get an idea, I went back and pulled both the full predictions and the final standings for each of the last 10 seasons. Here they are:

2015

2015 SEC predictions

2014

2014 sec media picks

2013

2013 sec media picks

2012

2012 sec media picks

2011

2011 sec media picks

2010

2010 sec media picks

2009

2009 sec media picks

2008

2008 sec media picks

2007

2007 sec media picks

2006

2006 sec media picks