BATON ROUGE — When LSU opens the 2008 season on Aug. 30 against Appalachian State, the Tigers will do so as the nation’s sixth-ranked team according to the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, which was released on Friday.
The USA Today Coaches poll is made up of 61 Division I-A coaches, including LSU coach Les Miles. The coaches poll makes up a portion of the Bowl Championship Standings formula, along with the Harris Interactive poll and the computer rankings.
LSU received three first place votes and a total of 1,163 points, which puts the Tigers just out of the top five. Georgia, LSU’s opponent in Tiger Stadium on Oct. 25, is the top-ranked team in the poll. The Bulldogs received 22 first-place votes and a total of 1,438 total points.
Southern Cal, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida rounded out the top five. Other Southeastern Conference teams in the top 25 include Auburn at No. 11 and Tennessee at No. 18. LSU plays at both Auburn and Florida this year.
“It’s always nice to be recognized, but I’m more concerned about where we finish the season and the process that it takes to get there,” coach Miles said.
Last year, the Tigers were ranked No. 2 in the preseason coaches poll and they went on to post a 12-2 overall mark and claim the BCS National Title with a 38-24 win over Ohio State.
The top-25 ranking for LSU marks the eighth-straight year that the Tigers have opened a season listed in the USA Today Coaches preseason poll. The top-25 ranking also stretches LSU streak of consecutive weeks in the USA Today Coaches Poll to 84, which dates back to the end of the 2002 season.
LSU returns 13 starters and 43 letterwinners from last year’s national champion team. The Tigers report to camp on Sunday, Aug. 3, with the first practice taking place on Monday.
USA Today Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank Team (first-place votes) Record Points Final 2007 rankings
1. Georgia (22) 11-2 1,438 3
2. Southern California (14) 11-2 1,430 2
3. Ohio State (14) 11-2 1,392 4
4. Oklahoma (3) 11-3 1,329 8
5. Florida (5) 9-4 1,293 16
6. LSU (3) 12-2 1,163 1
7. Missouri 12-2 1,143 5
8. West Virginia 11-2 1,008 6
9. Clemson 9-4 999 22
10. Texas 10-3 979 10
11. Auburn 9-4 888 14t
12. Wisconsin 9-4 747 21
13. Kansas 12-1 714 7
14. Texas Tech 9-4 644 23
15. Virginia Tech 11-3 568 9
16. Arizona State 10-3 560 13
17. Brigham Young 11-2 547 14t
18. Tennessee 10-4 506 12
19. Illinois 9-4 422 18
20. Oregon 9-4 399 24
21. South Florida 9-4 350 NR
22. Penn State 9-4 313 25
23. Wake Forest 9-4 203 NR
24. Michigan 9-4 112 19
25. Fresno State 9-4 91 NR
Others receiving votes
Alabama (7-6) 83; South Carolina (6-6) 64; Utah (9-4) 60; Florida State (7-6) 53; Rutgers (8-5) 53; Boston College (11-3) 47; California (7-6) 41; Pittsburgh (5-7) 34; Boise State (10-3) 25; Oregon State (9-4) 23; Nebraska (5-7) 17; Cincinnati (10-3) 13; Virginia (9-4) 12; Connecticut (9-4) 9; Michigan State (7-6) 9; Mississippi State (8-5) 6; Kentucky (8-5) 5; Notre Dame (3-9) 5; TCU (8-5) 5; Maryland (6-7) 4; North Carolina (4-8) 3; Texas A&M (7-6) 3; UCLA (6-7) 3; Central Florida (10-4) 2; Georgia Tech (7-6) 2; Louisville (6-6) 2; Arizona (5-7) 1; Colorado (6-7) 1; Oklahoma State (7-6) 1; Tulsa (10-4) 1.
The USA TODAY Board of Coaches is made up of 61 head coaches at Division I-A institutions. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. This season’s board: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Mike Bellotti, Oregon; Bret Bielema, Wisconsin; Bobby Bowden, Florida State; Tommy Bowden, Clemson; Art Briles, Baylor; Mack Brown, Texas; Neil Callaway, Alabama-Birmingham; Gene Chizik, Iowa State; Mario Cristobal, Florida International; Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Butch Davis, North Carolina; Todd Dodge, North Texas; Randy Edsall, Connecticut; Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee; Jeff Genyk, Eastern Michigan; Turner Gill, Buffalo; Joe Glenn, Wyoming; Todd Graham, Tulsa; Jim Grobe, Wake Forest; Dan Hawkins, Colorado; Pat Hill, Fresno State; Butch Jones, Central Michigan; Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville; Mike Leach, Texas Tech; Jim Leavitt, South Florida; Rocky Long, New Mexico; Bill Lynch, Indiana; Doug Martin, Kent State; Urban Meyer, Florida; Les Miles, LSU; Shane Montgomery, Miami (Ohio); Hal Mumme, New Mexico State; Rick Neuheisel, UCLA; Tom O’Brien, North Carolina State; George O’Leary, Central Florida; Gary Patterson, TCU; Bo Pelini, Nebraska; Chris Petersen, Boise State; Gary Pinkel, Missouri; Mike Price, Texas-El Paso; Mark Richt, Georgia; Mike Riley, Oregon State; Rich Rodriguez, Michigan; Greg Schiano, Rutgers; Howard Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic; Mark Snyder, Marshall; Frank Solich, Ohio; Steve Spurrier, South Carolina; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Jeff Tedford, California; Joe Tiller, Purdue; Bob Toledo, Tulane; Dick Tomey, San Jose State; Jim Tressel, Ohio State; Tommy Tuberville, Auburn; Charlie Weis, Notre Dame; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Tyrone Willingham, Washington; Ron Zook, Illinois.