BATON ROUGE -- Coming off a 41-24 victory over No. 18 Texas A&M in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, the LSU football team moved to No. 8 in the final Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll, which were released on Tuesday morning.

The Tigers (11-2) were the second-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team in the polls behind national champion Auburn.

The SEC claimed its fifth-straight Bowl Championship Series title on Monday night when Auburn defeated Oregon, 22-19.

LSU finished its 2010 campaign in style, as quarterback junior Jordan Jefferson connected with senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver for a bowl-record three touchdowns.

Three freshmen defensive backs, including Most Outstanding Defensive Player Tyrann Mathieu, accounted for three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

The Tigers will return to Arlington and Cowboys Stadium to open the 2011 season against the national runners-up, Oregon, on Sept. 3.

AP Top 25
Final 2010 Poll

No. School Record Points Prev
1 Auburn (56) 14-0 1472 1
2 TCU (3) 13-0 1392 3
3 Oregon  12-1 1379 2
4 Stanford  12-1 1300 5
5 Ohio State  12-1 1220 6
6 Oklahoma  12-2 1108 9
7 Wisconsin  11-2 1055 4
8 LSU  11-2 1051 11
9 Boise State  12-1 1031 10
10 Alabama  10-3 961 15
11 Nevada  13-1 866 13
12 Arkansas  10-3 863 8
13 Oklahoma State  11-2 833 16
14 Michigan State  11-2 696 7
15 Mississippi State  9-4 578 21
16 Virginia Tech  11-3 577 12
17 Florida State  10-4 502 23
18 Missouri  10-3 477 14
19 Texas A&M  9-4 359 18
20 Nebraska  10-4 334 17
21 UCF  11-3 225 26
22 South Carolina  9-5 169 19
23 Maryland  9-4 144 27
24 Tulsa  10-3 128 28
25 North Carolina State  9-4 119 35

Others Receiving Votes: Utah (10-3) 98; Iowa (8-5) 54; San Diego State (9-4) 52; Northern Illinois (11-3) 47; Miami (Ohio) (10-4) 21; Florida (8-5) 19; West Virginia (9-4) 16; Notre Dame (8-5) 9; Connecticut (8-5) 8; Air Force (9-4) 5; Navy (9-4) 3; Hawaii (10-4) 2; Brigham Young (7-6) 1; Eastern Washington (13-2) 1

USA Today Coaches Poll
Final 2010 Poll

NOTE: Two coaches could not be reached by 2 a.m. ET to provide ballots

No. School Record Points Prev
1 Auburn (56) 14-0 1424 2
2 TCU (1) 13-0 1336 3
3 Oregon  12-1 1333 1
4 Stanford  12-1 1254 5
5 Ohio State  12-1 1197 6
6 Oklahoma  12-2 1096 8
7 Boise State  12-1 1012 10
t8 LSU  11-2 1007 12
t8 Wisconsin  11-2 1007 4
10 Oklahoma State  11-2 883 13
11 Alabama  10-3 860 18
12 Arkansas  10-3 818 8
13 Nevada  13-1 734 15
14 Michigan State  11-2 676 7
15 Virginia Tech  11-3 636 11
16 Florida State  10-4 506 23
17 Mississippi State  9-4 505 22
18 Missouri  10-3 473 14
19 Nebraska  10-4 354 16
20 UCF  11-3 328 24
21 Texas A&M  9-4 277 17
22 South Carolina  9-5 181 20
23 Utah  10-3 156 19
24 Maryland  9-4 111 27
25 North Carolina State  9-4 94 30

Others Receiving Votes: Northern Illinois (11-3) 82; Tulsa (10-3) 41; San Diego State (9-4) 36; West Virginia (9-4) 35; Iowa (8-5) 31; Miami (Ohio) (10-4) 13; Florida (8-5) 10; Connecticut (8-5) 7; Air Force (9-4) 4; Hawaii (10-4) 4; Notre Dame (8-5) 3; Washington (7-6) 1

LSU in the Final Polls

YEAR, AP, COACHES
1936, 2, --
1937, 8, --
1945, 15, --
1946, 8, --
1949, 9, --
1958, 1, --
1959, 3, --
1961, 4, --
1962, 7, --
1964, 7, --
1965, 8, --
1968, 19, --
1969, 10, --
1970, 7, --
1971, 11, --
1972, 11, --
1973, 13, --
1982, 11, 11
1984, 15, 13
1985, 20, 21
1986, 10, 10
1987, 5, 6
1988, 19, 22
1995, --, 25
1996, 12, 13
1997, 13, 13
2000, 22, --
2001, 7, 8
2003, 2, 1
2004, 16, 16
2005, 6, 5
2006, 3, 3
2007, 1, 1
2009, 17, 17
2010, 8, t8