Voter who picked Kentucky to win the SEC explains his reasoning

Nick Roush is officially off the hook. The man who voted for Kentucky to win the 2026 SEC Championship on his SEC Media Days ballot has come forward. On a radio appearance with 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge, Gold Sheet‘s sports betting analyst Bruce Marshall explained why he picked the Cats to win the league this fall. “I was the one who voted for Kentucky. I kept the ballot straight with everything else,” Marshall said. “Apparently, that caused a little ruffle. But I said, you know what, nobody picked Indiana either. Will Stein is the only guy who came out and said I’m going to win.” The Will Stein comps to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti happened sparingly throughout the long college football offseason. Gasoline was thrown on that fire thanks to Stein’s “because of me” comments after being asked by KSR why he believes he can win at Kentucky. That viral moment generated a lot of conversation during talking season. Now some are dreaming big dreams. Marshall has UK winning a championship Atlanta against LSU. That would be quite the scene in December. Georgia was picked to win the league this season with 88 championship votes. The Dawgs were trailed by Texas (57), Ole Miss (six), Texas A&M (five), Alabama (three), Oklahoma (two), LSU (two), and Kentucky (one). Only 10 times over 34 has that team gone win the SEC Championship Game. Could Kentucky be the team poised to take advantage of that trend? Fans have been dreaming big dreams about the new era of Kentucky in a college football era where anything seems possible. One person outside of the Big Blue Nation is also a believer. SEC Predicted Order of Finish SchoolPoints1. Georgia25192. Texas24493. Ole Miss20044. Texas A&M19675. LSU19616. Alabama19307. Oklahoma19148. Tennessee13209. Florida121710. Missouri110511. South Carolina95612. Auburn93613. Vanderbilt75114. Kentucky54615. Mississippi State46716. Arkansas262