BATON ROUGE — It’s been less than three weeks since the Tigers’ thrilling 28-14 Peach Bowl victory over Georgia Tech to close out the 2000 season, yet people are already starting to take notice of the Tigers for the 2001 season.
CBS SportsLine has already projected the Tigers as the No. 16 team in the nation in its Pre-Spring Preseason Top 25. The Tigers are one of six SEC teams ranked in the poll, headed by Florida in the No. 1 spot.
The Tigers rank second in the poll among SEC Western Division teams, trailing only Mississippi State which holds the 13th position. Other SEC teams ranked in the SportsLine poll are No. 4 Tennessee, No. 15 South Carolina, and No. 22 Alabama.
The Tigers play each of the SEC teams ranked in the poll in 2001 with the exception of South Carolina. SportsLine predicts a Florida versus Miami national championship game in a rematch of this year’s Sugar Bowl.
CBS SportsLine’s Pre-Spring 2001 Football Top 25
1. Florida 10-3
2. Miami 11-1
3. Texas 9-3
4. Tennessee 8-4
5. Oklahoma 13-0
6. Florida State 11-2
7. Oregon 10-2
8. Nebraska 10-2
9. Michigan 9-3
10. Georgia Tech 9-3
11. Kansas State 11-3
12. Washington 11-1
13. Mississippi St. 8-4
14. Oregon State 11-1
15. South Carolina 8-4
16. LSU 8-4
17. Colorado St. 10-2
18. Virginia Tech 11-1
19. Northwestern 8-4
20. Clemson 9-3
21. Notre Dame 9-3
22. Alabama 3-8
23. UNLV 8-5
24. UCLA 6-6
25. Colorado 3-8