BATON ROUGE — LSU held steady in the polls this week following the Tigers’ 20-17 overtime win over Auburn on Saturday.
LSU remained No. 7 in both major polls on Sunday as the Tigers received 1,219 points in the Associated Press Top 25, followed by 1,164 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Harris Interactive and the Bowl Championship Series Standings will be released on Monday.
The Tigers, winners of four straight, stands at 5-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play following the Auburn win. LSU steps out of conference action for the next two weeks, hosting North Texas on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. followed by a Homecoming date with Appalachian State on Nov. 5.
Southern Cal, Texas, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Alabama and Miami (Fla.) remained Nos. 1-6 respectively in both major polls.
Other Southeastern Conference teams in the Top 25 include Florida at No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches poll; Auburn No. 19 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls; and Tennessee at No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the coaches poll.
COMMENTS FROM LSU COACH LES MILES AT SUNDAY BRIEFING
On the improvement with turnovers and penalties…
“Our kids understand the importance of them (turnovers and penalties). You can see it in their play and in the outcome. Our guys have character. They understand what is going to help this football team.”
On maintaining focus in the upcoming non-conference games…
“We have to get better. It’s just that simple. We are going to be ambitious towards the back end of this season. For us to accomplish the things we want to accomplish, we are going to have to improve and win these next two games. This time frame gives us the opportunity to improve and play well against two good teams but two teams that we should have advantages over.”
On the dropped passes in the end zone…
“They should have caught them. Early’s drop was a more difficult ball to catch, but both balls were certainly catch able balls.”
On switching kickers during the game…
“It’s an ongoing evaluation. Colt David was put in a position where the clock was running down and he did not have the opportunity to get comfortable in his kicking procedure.”
On QB JaMarcus Russell…
“He will be healthier next week than he was this week. I think he handled the game well. There was rust in some of his throws, but he made some smart decisions with the ball to benefit this team.”
On his first experience in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night…
“I certainly enjoyed it. I would have liked it to be less suspenseful. There is no game environment, day or night, like Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. I grin from ear to ear when I take the field.”