Where LSU football is picked to finish in SEC preseason media poll

Preseason accolades continue to suggest expectations surrounding Lane Kiffin‘s first season as LSU football’s head coach are high in 2026.

The 2026 Southeastern Conference media preseason order of finish and All-SEC team was released July 24 and the Tigers were picked to finish fifth in the league this year. That’s the second preseason SEC poll where LSU is expected to be a top 5 team in the league this season, following USA TODAY’s preseason poll where it came in at No. 3.

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Georgia, Texas, Ole Mis and Texas A&M are ahead of LSU in the SEC’s predicted order of finish and the Tigers are ahead of Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Missouri.

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LSU had five players land on the All-SEC First Team: Junior tight end Trey’Dez Green, senior offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, senior defensive end Princewill Umanmielen, senior linebacker Whit Weeks and junior punter Grant Chadwick.

Sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett and senior safety Ty Benefield were second teammers and senior center Braelin Moore and senior linebacker TJ Dottery ended up on the third team.

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The Tigers face three of the top four expected best teams in the conference this year in Texas (Nov. 14 at home), Ole Miss (Sept. 19 at Ole Miss) and Texas A&M (Sept. 26 at home) as well as the three predicted worst teams in the SEC in Kentucky (Oct. 10 at Kentucky), Mississippi State (Oct. 17 at home) and Arkansas (Nov. 28 at Arkansas).

FIRST TEAM

Offense

• WR (2): Cam Coleman, Texas; Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama

• TE: Trey’Dez Green, LSU

Defense

Special teams

• P: Grant Chadwick, LSU

• KO: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

• LS: Ben Anderson, Oklahoma

SECOND TEAM

Offense

• WR (2): Mario Craver, Texas A&M, Isaiah Satenga III, Oklahoma

• OL (5): Michael Carroll, Alabama, Michael Fasusi, Oklahoma, Dontrell Glover, Georgia, Lance Heard, Kentucky, Mark Nabou Jr., Texas A&M

• All-purpose: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Defense

• DB (5): Ty Benefield, LSU; Eli Bowen, Oklahoma; Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma; Kelley Jones, Mississippi State; DJ Pickett, LSU

Special teams

• P: Grayson Miller, Oklahoma

• KO: Lucas Carneiro, Ole Miss

• LS: Trey Dubuc, Texas

THIRD TEAM

Offense

• QB: Gunner Stockton, Georgia

• OL (5): Brandon Baker, Texas; Patrick Kutas, Ole Miss; Wendell Moe Jr., Tennessee; Braelin Moore, LSU; David Sanders Jr., Tennessee

• All-purpose: Jadan Baugh, Florida

Defense

• DL (4): Kam Franklin, Ole Miss; Gabe Harris, Georgia; DJ Hicks, Texas A&M; Jayden Woods, Florida

Special teams

• P: Ethan Pulliam, Mississippi State

• KO: Trey Bussey, Texas A&M

• LS: Brett Le Blanc, Missouri

1. Georgia (88)

2. Texas (57)

3. Ole Miss (6)

4. Texas A&M (5)

5. LSU (2)

6. Alabama (3)

7. Oklahoma (2)

8. Tennessee

9. Florida

10. Missouri

11. South Carolina

12. Auburn

13. Vanderbilt

14. Kentucky (1)

15. Mississippi State

16. Arkansas

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Where LSU football is picked to finish in SEC preseason media poll