LSU’s first preseason ranking under Lane Kiffin is in, and the Tigers landed at No. 13 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
That puts LSU at the top of a notable category: it’s the highest-ranked team in the poll that finished last season unranked. Penn State is next in that group at No. 17.
The placement fits the broader buzz around Baton Rouge this offseason. LSU has already been picked to finish third by SEC coaches and fifth by SEC media members, and now coaches around the country are signaling the Tigers could be a factor right away in Kiffin’s first year.
That belief comes even though LSU closed 2025 at 7-6 after a loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl, and despite the program going through a coaching change and a roster overhaul.
The schedule does plenty to justify the national attention. LSU has six ranked opponents on its 2026 slate, and three of them sit inside the top 10: No.
4 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M and No.
10 Ole Miss. The rest are No.
11 Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee and No.
23 Clemson.
The Tigers open the season with a ranked showdown against Clemson on Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC. It will be the second straight year LSU starts with a marquee ranked matchup.
Inside the SEC, LSU checks in as the seventh-highest ranked team in the preseason poll, behind Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Alabama.
At the top of the first Coaches Poll of 2026, Ohio State is No. 1, followed by Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Notre Dame. Indiana, Miami (FL), Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas Tech, LSU, USC, BYU, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Washington, SMU, Utah, Iowa, Clemson, Houston and Missouri round out the rankings.
In Other News...
Will Wade Just Got A Rare Portal Opportunity At LSU
A recent wave of court rulings has opened an unusual door in college basketball, and LSU is sitting in a spot where it can take advantage. With eligibility questions changing for some fifth-year players, the Tigers suddenly have a chance to shop in a part of the transfer market that usually is hard to access, especially for veterans who have already logged major minutes elsewhere and can help right away.
That matters in Baton Rouge because LSU has real room to maneuver and a chance to add proven experience around its current group. The pool of available names includes several returning players with track records worth watching, and if the Tigers want to raise the floor of the roster quickly, this is the kind of window programs do not get very often. [Read more 🡒]
Barion Brown Is Forcing Saints Fans To Rethink His Ceiling
Barion Brown has started to turn heads in padded training camp work, giving the Saints a better idea of what they may have in the rookie receiver beyond the return game. With Ja'Lynn Polk retired, there has been a little more room for Brown to show what he can do in a more traditional offensive role, and he has taken advantage of the reps by coming down with meaningful catches and creating separation from defenders.
That kind of progress matters for a player whose college production and return ability helped get him drafted in the first place, but whose path to a roster spot was never going to be simple. The encouraging part for New Orleans is that Brown no longer looks like just a special teams piece fighting for a foothold, and the next stretch of camp should help clarify whether that early momentum carries into a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Reported Money Plan Could Change Everything For Tigers Athletics
LSUs next big money move appears to be taking shape in a way that could look a lot different from the private-equity routes other programs have considered. Recent reporting says the school is exploring an LSU-controlled limited liability company built to invest in businesses that generate recurring revenue, with the athletic department potentially keeping control of how the whole thing operates. The structure could also include a nonprofit arm, which would give the plan a more familiar university footprint even as it points toward a more aggressive financial strategy.
Before anything becomes real, LSU is waiting on a third-party valuation and guidance from the IRS. That means the concept is still in the review stage, and plenty of the most important details remain unclear, including what specific investments the LLC might target or how the day-to-day mechanics would work. But even in outline form, the idea signals a program looking for a different kind of long-term revenue engine, one that could reshape how Tigers athletics is funded if the legal and financial pieces fall into place. [Read more 🡒]