BATON ROUGE -- LSU picked up its highest preseason ranking ever in the USA Today Coaches poll as the Tigers enter the 2007 season as the nation’s No. 2 ranked team, the publication announced on Friday.
The USA Today Coaches poll is made up of 60 Division I-A coaches, including LSU coach Les Miles. The coaches poll makes up a portion of the Bowl Championship Standings formula, along with the Harris Interactive poll and the computer rankings.
The No. 2 ranking for the Tigers is the highest preseason ranking in the coaches poll since its inception in 1982. It also marks the highest preseason ranking for LSU since starting the 2004 season ranked No. 3 in the nation.
In addition, it marks the fourth consecutive year in which LSU goes into a season-opener ranked in the top 10. A year ago, the Tigers were No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 9 in the coaches poll to start the season.
LSU returns 15 starters and 46 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted an 11-2 overall mark and beat Notre Dame, 41-14, in the Sugar Bowl. LSU won its final seven games last year and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
Southern Cal came in at No. 1 in the poll, capturing 45 of the 60 first place votes for a total of 1,481 points. LSU followed with four first place votes and a total of 1,372 points. Florida was third in the poll, followed by Texas and Michigan.
The bottom half of the top 10 starts with West Virginia at No. 6, followed by Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Ohio State.
Other Southeastern Conference teams in the poll include Georgia at No. 13, Auburn at No. 14, Tennessee at No. 15, and Arkansas at No. 20.
In all, the Tigers are scheduled to play four teams who are ranked in the pre-season top 25 with all four of those contests coming in Tiger Stadium.
LSU will hold its first practice of the season on Saturday morning when the veterans workout at 9 a.m. The freshmen will follow on Saturday afternoon with their first workout.
USA Today Coaches' Poll
| Team |
First-Place Votes |
Record |
Pts. |
|
1. USC |
45 |
0-0 |
1, 481 |
|
2. LSU |
4 |
0-0 |
1, 372 |
|
3. Florida |
9 |
0-0 |
1, 278 |
|
4. Texas |
0-0 |
1, 231 | |
|
5. Michigan |
2 |
0-0 |
1, 218 |
|
6. West Virginia |
0-0 |
1, 205 | |
|
7. Wisconsin |
0-0 |
1, 114 | |
|
8. Oklahoma |
0-0 |
1, 026 | |
|
9. Virginia Tech |
0-0 |
1, 005 | |
|
10. Ohio State |
0-0 |
919 | |
|
11. Louisville |
0-0 |
836 | |
|
12. California |
0-0 |
763 | |
|
13. Georgia |
0-0 |
604 | |
|
14. Auburn |
0-0 |
595 | |
|
15. Tennessee |
0-0 |
583 | |
|
16. Rutgers |
0-0 |
466 | |
|
17. UCLA |
0-0 |
454 | |
|
18. Penn State |
0-0 |
440 | |
|
19. Nebraska |
0-0 |
388 | |
|
20. Arkansas |
0-0 |
360 | |
|
21. Florida State |
0-0 |
301 | |
|
22. TCU |
0-0 |
233 | |
|
23. Boise State |
0-0 |
222 | |
|
24. Hawaii |
0-0 |
214 | |
|
25. Texas A&M |
0-0 |
209 |
Others Receiving Votes
Boston College 150, Georgia Tech 150, Miami (FL) 91, Notre Dame 90, South Carolina 90, Wake Forest 71, Missouri 58, Oregon State 52, Brigham Young 47, Clemson 30, Oregon 30, South Florida 26, Texas Tech 20, Alabama 16, Oklahoma State 15, Southern Miss 14, Iowa 12, Kansas State 8, Memphis 5, Houston 4, Arizona 1, Duke 1, Kentucky 1, Washington State 1.
