BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU is ranked No. 16 in the preseason Associated Press poll, which was released by the news organization on Monday.
LSU will start the season ranked in the Top 25 of both major polls – last week the USA Today Coaches Poll ranked the Tigers No. 13. The Tigers open the season on Saturday, September 4 against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
It’s the 21st consecutive season the Tigers start the year ranked in the Top 25, a streak that dates back to 2001.
LSU is one of five Southeastern Conference teams in the AP Preseason Top 25, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Texas A&M, and No. 13 Florida. The Tigers host both Texas A&M and Florida in Tiger Stadium this year.
The Tigers return 18 starters and 54 letterwinners from last year’s 5-5 squad that capped the year with wins over Florida and Ole Miss.
2021 AP Preseason Top 25
1, Alabama, 1,548 (47), 1
2, Oklahoma, 1,462 (6), 6
3, Clemson, 1,447 (6), 3
4, Ohio State, 1,393 (1), 2
5, Georgia, 1,364 (3), 7
6, Texas A&M, 1,223, 4
7, Iowa State, 1,160, 9
8, Cincinnati, 1,014, 8
9, Notre Dame, 1,009, 5
10, North Carolina, 999, 18
11, Oregon, 968, NR
12, Wisconsin, 743, NR
13, Florida, 728, 13
14, Miami (Fla.), 663, 22
15, USC, 660, 21
16, LSU, 631, NR
17, Indiana, 549, 12
18, Iowa, 513, 16
19, Penn State, 456, NR
20, Washington, 449, NR
21, Texas, 350, 19
22, Coastal Carolina, 232, 14
23, Louisiana-Lafayette, 208, 15
24, Utah, 176, NR
25, Arizona State, 125, NR
{Courtesy: release from LSU athletics}