BATON ROUGE — LSU has been ranked No. 2 in another national publication as Sports Illustrated picked the Tigers as the nation’s second-rated team behind Southern Cal in its preseason college football issue, which hit the news stands on Wednesday.
Despite losing four players in the first round of last April’s NFL Draft, including the No. 1 overall pick in quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the Tigers are still considered one of the nation’s top teams.
LSU goes into its season-opener against Mississippi State ranked No. 2 in the nation in the USA Today/Coaches Poll as well. The Associated Press Top 25 will be released later this week.
LSU returns 15 starters and 46 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted an 11-2 overall mark and beat Notre Dame, 41-14, in the Sugar Bowl.
Other Southeastern Conference teams in the SI Top 20 include Florida at No. 3, Arkansas at No. 13, Auburn at No. 16, Tennessee at No. 17, and Georgia at No. 19. LSU hosts Florida, Arkansas and Auburn in Tiger Stadium this year as well as facing seventh-ranked Virginia Tech in Baton Rouge during the second week of the season.
Individually, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and offensive lineman Will Arnold both earned preseason All-America honors from Sports Illustrated. Dorsey, who was a first-team All-America pick a year ago, is coming off a 64-tackle, 8.5 tackles for losses season in 2006. Arnold earned second-team all-SEC honors in 2006 despite playing in just five games for the Tigers a year ago.
Sports Illustrated’s Preseason Top 20
1. USC
2. LSU
3. Florida
4. West Virginia
5. Louisville
6. Michigan
7. Virginia Tech
8. Texas
9. Oklahoma
10. Wisconsin
11. Ohio State
12. Rutgers
13. Arkansas
14. Penn State
15. Boise State
16. Auburn
17. Tennessee
18. Nebraska
19. Georgia
20. Cal