BATON ROUGE — The LSU football team can’t be accused of taking the easy way to an 11-2 record and the Allstate Sugar Bowl title as the Tigers played the nation’s 12th toughest schedule in 2006, according to the NCAA.
LSU’s 2006 opponents finished with a combined record of 85-60 for a winning percentage of .586, which was percentage points behind No. 10 Tennessee and No. 11 Minnesota. Florida led the nation in strength of schedule, followed by Michigan at No. 2, Cincinnati at No. 3, South Carolina at No. 4 and Kentucky No. 5.
In all, LSU faced a total of seven teams in 2006 that went on to play in bowl games, including eventual national champion Florida as well as New Year’s Day bowl game participants in Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Notre Dame.
LSU finished the season with a 5-2 record against bowl teams, which included wins over Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Notre Dame.
LSU also had a 3-2 mark against top 25 teams in 2006, beating No. 5 Arkansas, 31-26; No. 8 Tennessee, 28-24; and No. 11 Notre Dame, 41-14.
In addition to having one of the nation’s toughest schedules, the Tigers also ran their home field winning streak to 13 straight in 2006. LSU posted an 8-0 mark at home in 2006 after going 5-1 a year ago.
The 13 consecutive home victories ranks as the fourth-longest active streak, behind Southern Cal (33), Louisville (18), and Florida (15).
In terms of overall victories, the Tigers will bring a seven-game winning streak into the 2007 season. LSU’s current seven-game winning streak ranks No. 5 in the nation behind Boise State (13), BYU (10), Wisconsin (9), and TCU (8).