LSU may have dodged a bullet.

There was a lot of speculation that the Tigers just might be the media’s preseason pick to win the Southeastern Conference West Division.

Crisis averted. Chalk held as the SEC Media Days released its annual poll Friday in advance of the season.

Alabama once again was the pick in the West, with Georgia, which will be going for a national championship three-peat, as the overwhelming choice in the East and to win the overall title.

But the West Division was razor close. The Tide wasn’t a knee-jerk choice.

Alabama received 1,899 points (184 first place) while LSU was just 61 behind with 1,838 points and 117 first place.

For comparison, third-place Texas A&M was 694 points behind LSU.

It may not be such a bad thing for the Tigers with a poll that is historically and sometimes comically off-target.

The Tigers were picked fifth in the West a year ago before Brian Kelly surprisingly won the division and took the Tigers to Atlanta for the SEC championship game in his first year as head coach.

It’s hardly an exact science. Vanderbilt — the affair was in Nashville — got 11 votes as the pick to win the East (although, even with curious boost, the Commodotres are still predicted to be in the cellar).

Famously, only 9 times in the last 30 years has the media gotten it right in advance.

Kelly beat Alabama last year in overtime. But this year’s showdown will be played in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Much of the skepticism with the Tide is the uncertainty at quarterback, a rarity for Nick Saban’s bunch.

LSU, on the other hand, will have the preseason first-team quarterback in Jayden Daniels.

Daniels was one of 11 Tigers on the predicted all-conference team, including six first-teamers.

He’s joined by wide receiver Malik Nabors and offensive tackle Will Campbell on offense, while defensive linemen Mehko Wingo and Maason Smith and linebacker Harold Perkins are on the first-team defense.

On the second team LSU is represented by tight end Mason Taylor, long snapper Slade Roy and kick off specialist Nathan Dilbert

Predicted third-team Tigers are offensive lineman Emery Jones and defensive back Major Burns.

Georgia, not surprisingly, dominated the team with 10 first-teamers and four others on the second and third teams.