LSU begins season No. 13 in AP Poll

By JAMES MORAN | Tiger Rag Associate Editor

LSU will begin this season right where it left off at the end of 2016: a top-15 team.

The media voted the Tigers No. 13 in the preseason AP Poll, which was released Monday morning. That’s one spot lower than their No. 12 ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

LSU is one of six Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 25, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 12 Auburn, No. 15 Georgia, No. 17 Florida and No. 25 Tennessee. The Crimson Tide received 52 of 61 first-place votes.

This marks LSU’s seventh consecutive season being ranked as a top-15 team preseason, a streak that dates back to 2011. LSU hasn’t outperformed its preseason ranking since 2011, when the Tigers rose from No. 4 preseason to No. 2 in the final poll.

LSU begins its first season under Ed Orgeron on Sept. 2 against BYU in Houston.

Here’s a link to the full poll.