Strength of Schedule numbers sure could help LSU reach the College Football Playoff this season for the first time since 2019, but that is not officially part of the criteria the CFP committee is expected to use to choose the 12 postseason teams.
“My concern is the selection process is not fixed until it is truly fixed to reward strength of schedule,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said recently as the Southeastern Conference moves to a nine-game league schedule this season for the first time.
So, LSU will just have to grin and beat enough teams on its schedule to reach the field. And the Tigers will play six teams ranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll released on Tuesday, including four in the top 11.
LSU, which is ranked No. 13 in the poll, plays No. 4 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 10 Ole Miss on the road, No. 11 Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee away and No. 23 Clemson – the Tigers’ only ranked opponent not from the SEC. The Tigers open the season against Clemson on Sept. 5 in Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., ABC).
Ohio State is the preseason No. 1, followed by No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Georgia, which is one of three SEC teams ranked that LSU does not play. The other two are No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 25 Missouri. The rest of the top 10 has Notre Dame at No. 5, followed by defending national champion Indiana at No. 6 and No. 7 Miami.
| 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.
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