Coaches rank LSU No. 9 in preseason Top-25

BATON ROUGE – It will be a Top 10 matchup when LSU faces Clemson in the season-opener in less than four weeks as both teams sit inside the Top 10 of the AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released on Monday.

LSU is ranked No. 9 by the coaches, while Clemson is No. 6. The LSU-Clemson contest will mark the first time in school history the Tigers will open the season in a Top 10 matchup for a true road game. LSU’s other two Top 10 season-opening matchups came at neutral sites – 2011 No. 4 LSU vs. No. 3 Oregon (Arlington, Texas); 2023 No. 5 LSU vs. No. 8 Florida State (Orlando, Fla.).  

The No. 9 ranking is the highest for the Tigers in the preseason coaches poll since 2023 when LSU opened the year ranked No. 5. Since 2000, LSU has entered a season ranked in the Top 10 of the coaches poll 12 times.

In addition to Clemson, five other teams on LSU’s 2025 schedule are ranked in the Top 25, a list topped by Alabama at No. 8 followed by South Carolina at No. 13, Ole Miss at No. 15, Florida at No. 17, and Texas A&M at No. 21. South Carolina, Florida and Texas A&M all come to Tiger Stadium this year.

The AFCA Coaches Poll features nine SEC teams with Texas leading the way at No. 1 followed by Georgia at No. 4. Tennessee at No. 18 rounds out the remaining SEC teams in Top 25.

2025 AFCA Coaches Poll – Preseason

1.            Texas

2.            Ohio State

3.            Penn State

4.            Georgia

5.            Notre Dame

6.            Clemson

7.            Oregon

8.            Alabama

9.            LSU

10.          Miami

11.          Arizona State

12.          Illinois

13.          South Carolina

14.          Michigan

15.          Ole Miss

16.          SMU

17.          Florida

18.          Tennessee

19.          Indiana

20.          Kansas State

21.          Iowa State

21.          Texas A&M

23.          BYU

24.          Texas Tech

25.          Boise State