LSU Football in 2026 Preseason Coaches' Poll

BATON ROUGE – LSU opens the Lane Kiffin era ranked No.13 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll, the organization announced on Tuesday. 

The No. 13 ranking marks the 25th time in 27 years, dating back to 2000, the Tigers enter a season ranked in the Top 25. LSU’s season-opening opponent Clemson is ranked No. 23. LSU and Clemson meet on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Death Valley. 

Over the 27-year span, the only seasons in which LSU wasn’t ranked in the preseason Top 25 came in 2000 (Nick Saban’s first year) and 2022 (Brian Kelly’s first year).  

The Top 25 matchup between LSU and Clemson will mark the first time since 1988 that a ranked LSU team will host a ranked opponent in the season-opener in Tiger Stadium. The last time it happened came on Sept. 3, 1988 when No. 18 LSU blanked No. 10 Texas A&M, 27-0. 

Other LSU opponents in the USA Today Preseason Top 25 include: No. 4 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Alabama, and No. 18 Tennessee. LSU faces Texas, Texas A&M and Alabama in Tiger Stadium, while the Tigers will travel to face Ole Miss and Tennessee.  

Ohio State is ranked No. 1, followed by Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Notre. Dame. The Top 10 is rounded out with Indiana, Miami, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. 

The SEC has nine of its 16 teams in the Top 25 with Missouri holding the final spot in the poll at No. 25. 

LSU opens fall camp on Wednesday. 

2026 US LBM Coaches Preseason Top 25

Aug. 4, 2026

Rank	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points
1.	Ohio State (38)	1741
2.	Oregon (6)	1673
3.	Georgia (7)	1591
4.	Texas (2)	1544
5.	Notre Dame (5)	1524
6.	Indiana (14)	1522
7.	Miami (Fla.)	1409
8.	Texas A&M	1174
9.	Oklahoma	1104
10.	Ole Miss	1096
11.	Alabama	1050
12.	Texas Tech	1034
13.	LSU	951
14.	USC	838
15.	BYU	781
16.	Michigan	719
17.	Penn State	463
18.	Tennessee	428
19.	Washington	406
20.	SMU	378
21.	Utah	313
22.	Iowa	291
23.	Clemson	235
24.	Houston	194
25.	Missouri	158

Others Receiving Votes
Louisville 153; Florida 147; TCU 63; Illinois 62; South Carolina 50; Arizona 50; Virginia 40; Vanderbilt 37; Auburn 29; Georgia Tech 26; Boise State 24; Oklahoma State 22; UNLV 17; North Carolina State 13; Florida State 13; Virginia Tech 12; Nebraska 12; Memphis 9; Arizona State 8; James Madison 6; Duke 6; Pittsburgh 4; New Mexico 4; Western Michigan 3; Navy 3; San Diego State 2; Kansas State 1; Jacksonville State 1; Hawaii 1; California 1.

List Of Voters
The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2026 season: Tim Albin, Charlotte; Blake Anderson, Southern Mississippi; Dave Aranda, Baylor; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, North Texas; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Manny Diaz, Duke; Jake Dickert, Wake Forest; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Sonny Dykes, TCU; Jason Eck, New Mexico; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Matt Entz, Fresno State; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Virginia Tech; Willie Fritz, Houston; Scott Frost, Central Florida; Tony Gibson, Marshall; Alex Golesh, Auburn; Will Hall, Tulane; Blake Harrell, East Carolina; John Hauser, Ohio; Clay Helton, Georgia Southern; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Charles Huff, Memphis; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; KC Keeler, Temple; Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic; Collin Klein, Kansas State; Tre Lamb, Tulsa; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Jeff Monken, Army; Kirby Moore, Washington State; Eric Morris, Oklahoma State; Dan Mullen, UNLV; Billy Napier, James Madison; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Brian Newberry, Navy; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, Purdue; Tim Polasek, North Dakota State; Tavita Pritchard, Stanford; Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion; Matt Rhule, Nebraska; Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia; Morgan Scalley, Utah; JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Will Stein, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Florida; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio; Scotty Walden, Texas-El Paso; Kyle Whittingham, Michigan; Casey Woods, Missouri State.