Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers will enter the 2024 season as the No. 13 team in America after the AP Top 25 preseason poll was released Monday afternoon.
For Kelly and the Bayou Bengals, it’s about consistency and taking the next step on defense before the fall, when the program enters the third year of the “Kelly Era.”
“We are in year three and the group is as accountable as it has ever been,” Kelly said. “There is trust within the group. This will be the strongest team we have ever had. I don’t know how that will compare to expectations. All I can do is keep working on our process and then the results will be evaluated externally, whatever they are.
I don’t have control over that. I control how we run our operations and how we go to work every day. I can tell you that in year three, I had really good success making our football team the most reliable and trustworthy team I’ve had here at LSU. That’s usually worked pretty well at my other stops.”
Led by new starter Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback, the newly formed LSU offense appears to be carrying the momentum from last season and has a variety of weapons to choose from.
With a receiver corps that includes Kyren Lacy, CJ Daniels and Chris Hilton, the Tigers are in pole position to get on the right track offensively early in the season.
Week 1 features a Top 25 matchup as No. 13 LSU takes on No. 23 Southern California under the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Here’s a look at the full breakdown of the AP preseason poll.
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Notre-Dame
- Penn State
- Michigan
- State of Florida
- Missouri
- Utah
- LSU
- Clemson
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- State of Oklahoma
- State of Kansas
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Kansas
- Southern California
- State of North Carolina
- Iowa
Other vote recipients: Louisville 111, Virginia Tech 77, Boise St. 47, SMU 33, Iowa St. 33, Liberty 32, Washington 23, West Virginia 17, Memphis 16, Nebraska 16, Wisconsin 15, UTSA 6, Tulane 5, Appalachian St. 4, Kentucky 3, Auburn 2, Colorado 1.
Fall Camp Week 3 Preview: Storylines, Position Battles and Depth Chart Predictions
LSU approaches No. 1 recruiting class in America
The eye-catchers: Who stands out at Fall Camp?
Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers on SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage of the LSU program.
