BATON ROUGE -- The LSU football team will start the 2009 season in a familiar place this decade: in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25. The Tigers were voted No. 11 by the writers, and start the season among the nation's elite programs.
Defending national champion Florida topped the poll with 58 of 60 first-place votes, while Alabama (5), Ole Miss (8) and Georgia (13) also represented the Southeastern Conference in the rankings.
LSU opens its fifth season under head coach Les Miles on Sept. 5 when the Tigers travel to Seattle to face unranked Washington in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
AP Preseason Top 25
Rank, Team (First-Place Votes), Total Points
1. Florida (58) 1,498
2. Texas (2) 1,424
3. Oklahoma 1,370
4. USC 1,313
5. Alabama 1,156
6. Ohio State 1,113
7. Virginia Tech 1,054
8. Mississippi 1,047
t9. Oklahoma State 989
t9. Penn State 989
11. LSU 914
12. California 746
13. Georgia 714
14. Boise State 659
15. Georgia Tech 593
16. Oregon 587
17. TCU 521
18. Florida State 307
19. Utah 289
20. Brigham Young 267
21. North Carolina 261
22. Iowa 229
23. Notre Dame 225
24. Nebraska 207
25. Kansas 134
Others Receiving Votes
Oregon State 122, Illinois 105, Pittsburgh 103, Michigan State 100, Rutgers 83, Texas Tech 76, West Virginia 57, Cincinnati 44, Clemson 42, Miami (FL) 40, East Carolina 30, Tennessee 15, Arizona 13, North Carolina State 10, Boston College 9, Central Michigan 7, Auburn 7, UCLA 7, Northwestern 5, South Florida 3, Southern Miss 3, Vanderbilt 3, Missouri 3, South Carolina 2, Nevada 1, Arkansas 1, Houston 1, Troy 1, Tulsa 1.
LSU in Preseason Polls this Decade
Year: Associated Press/Coaches
2009: 11th/9th
2008: 7th/6th
2007: 2nd/2nd
2006: 8th/9th
2005: 5th/6th
2004: 4th/3rd
2003: 14th/15th
2002: 14th/13th
2001: 14th/17th
