LSU Rises Multiple Sports in Latest AP Top 25

The Tigers rise from the brink of national irrelevancy with a shutout win over Mississippi State. This week, they face the Auburn Tigers, giant killers who just took down undefeated Georgia on the road.

Oct 17, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Louisiana State Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LSU’s two losses remain on its record. Saturday made them look less disqualifying.

The Tigers climbed four spots to No. 18 in Sunday’s Associated Press Top 25 after beating Mississippi State 31-0. At 5-2, LSU still needs a strong finish to reach the College Football Playoff. But after five of the nation’s top seven teams lost Saturday, the Tigers have more company among contenders with results to explain.

The SEC is wide open because its contenders keep knocking one another down. That cannibalism has kept LSU in the playoff conversation while making its remaining schedule difficult to predict. The teams standing between the Tigers and a postseason berth have shown they can lose. They have also shown they can beat other contenders.

Wide Open

DJ Pickett 5 scores a touchdown as the LSU Tigers take on the LA Tech Bulldogs. September 12, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Start with LSU’s first defeat.

Ole Miss beat the Tigers 32-24 in Oxford before losing 52-28 at Florida. That initially supplied a reason to question LSU: the team that beat the Tigers had just been overwhelmed by another conference opponent.

Florida has since given that result more context. The Gators have beaten Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas. Texas beat Tennessee, which just defeated Alabama 26-10. Alabama had already lost 20-17 to Georgia, which then lost to Auburn on Saturday.

Follow those results around the conference and any clean hierarchy falls apart.

That helps LSU because its defeats no longer separate it as sharply from teams previously assumed to be better. Alabama also has two losses. So does Texas. Georgia’s unbeaten record disappeared against an unranked opponent.

Those results do not give LSU credit for games it did not win. Florida beating Texas cannot erase the Tigers’ loss at Ole Miss. They do, however, weaken the argument that two defeats should remove LSU from serious playoff consideration while other SEC contenders receive more patience.

Ole Miss remains No. 7. Kentucky, responsible for LSU’s other defeat, is 6-1 and ranked No. 12 after following its overtime victory over the Tigers with a 21-13 win at Oklahoma. Both LSU losses came on the road against teams now ranked in the top 12.

That is a defensible set of losses. LSU still needs enough significant wins to accompany them.

Saturday helped. Mississippi State entered ranked No. 16, and LSU shut it out. The Bulldogs’ absences at quarterback and running back limit how much that performance proves, but a 31-point conference victory gave the Tigers a convincing response to the Kentucky loss.

The remaining schedule gives LSU the chance to build a much stronger case.

The Tigers visit Auburn next, then face Alabama and Texas at home before closing with trips to Tennessee and Arkansas. Winning all five would put LSU at 10-2, with victories over several teams competing for the same postseason opportunities.

A 10-2 finish would give LSU a strong playoff argument. It would combine two competitive road losses with a closing stretch featuring wins over Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. Those head-to-head results would matter when comparing the Tigers with other SEC candidates.

Finishing 9-3 would leave LSU dependent on considerably more help. The conference’s cannibalism cuts both ways: it brings teams ahead of LSU back within reach, but it can also leave the Tigers among a crowded group of three-loss teams fighting for limited places.

The AP poll does not select the playoff field. The selection committee’s first rankings arrive Nov. 3, and seven places in the 12-team bracket go to teams outside the five automatic qualifiers. LSU must earn its position in that comparison.

The uncertainty extends beyond the SEC.

Miami took No. 1 after surviving unranked Florida State 43-35 in double overtime. BYU, meanwhile, beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 and moved to second. With both teams unbeaten, the Cougars supplied the stronger result Saturday and deserved to move ahead of the Hurricanes. Miami’s previous ranking should not have made its promotion automatic when the two teams above it lost.

For LSU, though, the immediate concern is Auburn.

The Tigers are 5-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. Auburn just won at Georgia. A victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium would address LSU’s clearest weakness while adding evidence that the Tigers can finish the season against this schedule.

Saturday improved LSU’s position because teams ahead of it proved vulnerable. The SEC remains open, and a 10-2 finish would demand serious playoff consideration.

LSU has five games left to make that case.

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