BATON ROUGE – To no surprise, LSU held down the No. 6 spot in the Bowl Championship Series Standings, which were released on Sunday night by the National Football Foundation.
Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in the initial BCS Standings for 2010 with a .9215 average. The Sooners are followed in the top five by Oregon (.8921 average), Boise State (.8898), and Auburn (.8641). LSU is has a BCS average of .8254.
LSU is ranked No. 6 in both the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the Harris Interactive, which make up two-thirds of the BCS formula. The Tigers got a boost from the computers as LSU has an average computer ranking of No. 2. LSU is ranked No. 1 in two computer models – Anderson & Hester along with Billingsley. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the Colley Matrix.
“It’s nice to be recognized but there is still so much football to be played,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “It’s a nice starting point, but we have a long way to go.”
The No. 6 ranking is the highest in the first BCS Standings of the season since 2007 when the Tigers opened up at No. 4 and then later went on to claim it second national title of the decade. LSU also opened at No. 6 in 2005.
In 2003 when the Tigers claimed their first BCS National Championship, LSU debuted at No. 12 in the BCS Standings that year.
Other SEC teams in the BCS Top 25 include Alabama at No. 8, South Carolina at No. 21, Arkansas at No. 23, and Mississippi State at No. 25.
LSU returns to action on Saturday as the Tigers will put their 7-0 record on the line against No. 4 Auburn at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by CBS.
LSU’s Initial BCS Ranking Through the Years
2010: 6th
2009: 9th
2008: 13th
2007: 4th
2006: 18th
2005: 6th
2004: 19th
2003: 12th
2002: 9th
2001: NR (only top 15 ranked)
Bowl Championship Series – Oct. 17, 2010
Team BCS Average
1. Oklahoma .9215
2. Oregon .8921
3. Boise State .8898
4. Auburn .8641
5. TCU .8573
6. LSU .8245
7. Michigan State .7628
8. Alabama .6654
9. Utah .6540
10. Ohio State .5726
11. Missouri .5491
12. Stanford .5374
13. Wisconsin .5335
14. Oklahoma State .5261
15. Iowa .4824
16. Nebraska .4295
17. Florida State .4267
18. Arizona .3807
19. Texas .2214
20. West Virginia .1812
21. South Carolina .1555
22. Kansas State .1422
23. Arkansas .1302
24. Mississippi State .1253
25. Virginia Tech .0658
AP Top 25
RK, Team, Record, Points, PV RK
1. Oregon, 6-0, 1471, 2
2. Boise State, 6-0, 1433, 3
3. Oklahoma, 6-0, 135, 6
4. TCU, 7-0, 1340, 4
5. Auburn, 7-0, 1279, 7
6. LSU, 7-0, 1132, 9
7. Alabama, 6-1, 1121, 8
8. Michigan State, 7-0, 1062, 13
9. Utah, 6-0, 1019, 11
10. Wisconsin, 6-1, 920, 18
11. Ohio State, 6-1, 895, 1
12. Stanford, 5-1, 828, 14
13. Iowa, 5-1, 768, 15
14. Nebraska, 5-1, 684, 5
15. Arizona, 5-1, 619, 17
16. Florida State, 6-1, 615, 16
17. Oklahoma State, 6-0, 575, 20
18. Missouri, 6-0, 52, 21
19. South Carolina, 4-2, 372, 10
20. West Virginia, 5-1, 346, 25
21. Arkansas, 4-2, 343, 12
22. Texas, 4-2, 267, –
23. Virginia Tech, 5-2, 122, –
24. Mississippi State, 5-2, 111, –
25. Miami (FL), 4-2, 85, –
USA Today Coaches Top 25
The USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 football coaches poll, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th and ranking in last week’s poll.
Oct. 17, 2010
Rank Team (first-place votes) Record Points Last week’s ranking
1. Oregon (42) 6-0 1,452 2
2. Boise State (11) 6-0 1,385 3
3. Oklahoma (4) 6-0 1,334 6
4. TCU (1) 7-0 1,300 5
5. Auburn (1) 7-0 1,238 7
6. LSU 7-0 1,132 9
7. Alabama 6-1 1,085 8
8. Michigan State 7-0 1,037 11
9. Utah 6-0 1,004 10
10. Ohio State 6-1 936 1
11. Wisconsin 6-1 867 16
12. Iowa 5-1 785 14
13. Nebraska 5-1 768 4
14. Stanford 5-1 689 15
15. Oklahoma State 6-0 659 18
16. Missouri 6-0 640 19
17. Florida State 6-1 608 17
18. Arizona 5-1 494 20
19. West Virginia 5-1 323 25
20. South Carolina 4-2 284 12
21. Arkansas 4-2 274 13
22. Texas 4-2 256 NR
23. Virginia Tech 5-2 165 NR
24. Mississippi State 5-2 133 NR
25. Miami (Fla.) 4-2 127 NR
Dropped out
No. 21 Nevada (6-1, lost to Hawaii 27-21), No. 22 Florida (4-3, lost to then-unranked Mississippi State 10-7), No. 23 Air Force (5-2, lost to San Diego State 27-25), No. 24 Michigan (5-2, lost to then-No. 14 Iowa 38-28).
Others receiving votes
Northwestern (5-1) 60; Kansas State (5-1) 53; Nevada (6-1) 28; Michigan (5-2) 23; Hawaii (5-2) 9; North Carolina (5-2) 8; Georgia Tech (5-2) 6; Air Force (5-2) 5; East Carolina (4-2) 4; Baylor (5-2) 3; Navy (4-2) 1.
Harris Interactive College Football Poll
Oct. 17, 2010
Number of first-place votes shown in parentheses
Rank, Team, Points
1. Oregon (77), 2,774
2. Boise State (29), 2,685
3. TCU (3), 2,516
4. Oklahoma (4), 2,486
5. Auburn, 2,410
6. LSU, 2,164
7. Alabama, 2,092
8. Michigan State, 1,964
9. Utah, 1,925
10. Ohio State, 1,761
11. Wisconsin, 1,646
12. Iowa, 1,511
13. Stanford, 1,455
14. Nebraska, 1,322
15. Oklahoma State, 1,247
16. Missouri, 1,196
17. Florida State, 1,124
18. Arizona, 1,037
19. West Virginia, 663
20. Arkansas, 579
21. South Carolina, 576
22. Texas, 397
23. Virginia Tech, 242
24. Miami (FL), 213
25. Kansas State, 143
25. Nevada, 143
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State, 129; Michigan, 64; Northwestern, 57; Florida, 46; Air Force, 30; Oregon State, 27; North Carolina, 22; Hawaii, 21; Georgia Tech, 19; NC State, 19; Baylor, 12; East Carolina, 3; San Diego State, 2; Purdue, 1; Southern Miss, 1; Washington, 1.