The 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll has revealed its initial top-25 rankings ahead of the start of a new college football season. In the first year with head coach Lane Kiffin at the helm, the LSU Tigers were ranked No. 13, four spots lower than where they slotted on the same list a year ago.
The Tigers were the only team inside the top-15 with fewer than eight wins in 2025, finishing with a 7-5 overall record. LSU finds itself between a Big 12 and Big Ten team, with the Texas Tech Red Raiders ranked just ahead at No. 12 and the USC Trojans behind at No. 14.
Advertisement
Reigning National Champions Indiana Hoosiers finds itself ranked No. 6 as last season’s runner-up Miami Hurricanes sit a spot behind at No. 7.
LSU is one of nine SEC schools ranked inside the top-25 of the poll and is scheduled to face five of these on this year’s conference slate. The Tigers will host Texas A&M, Alabama, and Texas while traveling to face Ole Miss and Tennessee. LSU will also play against Clemson, ranked No. 23, in the season opener in Tiger Stadium.
There are lofty expectations in Baton Rouge this year with Kiffin coming over from Oxford and having one of the deepest, most talented rosters in the nation at his disposal. Will the Tigers be able to live up to the hype and silence doubters, or will yet another season pass without a seed in the College Football Playoff?
