Where LSU football was picked to finish 2026 in USA TODAY All-SEC poll
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BATON ROUGE – Lane Kiffin hasn't coached a game for LSU football yet but expectations for his first season are continuing to climb.
The Tigers were picked to finish third in Kiffin's first season in the Southeastern Conference in 2026 by USA TODAY as the outlets' All-SEC team and predicted order of finish was released Monday. Comprised of 15 voters who cover the majority of the teams in the league selected Texas as the SEC's champion in the preseason as the Longhorns received nine first-place votes. Georgia had six first-place votes while LSU did not receive any.
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LSU is predicted to finish ahead of Ole Miss, Kiffin's former team who made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season without Kiffin on the sideline as he decided to take the LSU job.
New LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, an Arizona State transfer, was named the preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Four other Tigers landed on the USA TODAY All-SEC football team including junior tight end Trey'Dez Green, newcomer offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, senior linebacker Whit Weeks and punter Grant Chadwick.
LSU was one of two programs that had at least one player to make the All-SEC team on offense, defense and special teams entering this 2026 season. Texas was the other.
2026 preseason All-SEC football team
Offense
- QB: Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
- RB (2): Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss; Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
- WR (2): Cam Coleman, Texas; Mario Craver, Texas A&M
- TE:Trey'Dez Green, LSU
- OL (5):Cayden Green, Missouri; Drew Bobo, Georgia; Jordan Seaton, LSU; *Trevor Goosby, Texas; Wendell Moe, Tennessee
Defense
- DL (4): Colin Simmons, Texas; David Stone, Oklahoma; Dylan Stewart, South Carolina; Will Echoles, Ole Miss
- LB (3): *Xavier Atkins, Auburn; Rasheem Biles, Texas; Whit Weeks, LSU
- DB (4): Bray Hubbard, Alabama; Ellis Robinson, Georgia; KJ Bolden, Georgia; Zabien Brown, Alabama
Special teams
- K: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma
- P:Grant Chadwick, LSU
- All-Purpose: RB/WR Ryan Niblett, Texas
2026 preseason SEC individual awards
- SEC Coach of the Year: Steve Sarkisian, Texas
- SEC Player of the Year: QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
- SEC Newcomer of the Year:QB Sam Leavitt, LSU
*Notates unanimous All-SEC selection
Predicted order of finish for SEC football's 2026 season
First-place votes in parenthesis
- Texas (9)
- Georgia (6)
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Florida
- Missouri
- Auburn
- South Carolina
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
The All-SEC team, individual awards and predicted order of finish were selected by a panel of 15 writers who cover the league: Ryan Black (Courier-Journal), John Brice (USA TODAY), Kevin Brockway (Gainesville Sun), Adam Cole (Montgomery Advertiser), Jackson Fuller (Southwest Times Record), Colin Gay (Tuscaloosa News), Aria Gerson (The Tennessean), Sam Hutchens (The Clarion-Ledger), Lulu Kesin (Greenville News), Calum McAndrew (Columbia Daily Tribune),Sam Sklar (The Clarion-Ledger), Adam Sparks (Knoxville News Sentinel), Colton Sulley (The Oklahoman), Blake Toppmeyer (USA TODAY), and Marc Weiszer (Athens Banner-Herald).
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 [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Where LSU football was picked to finish 2026 in USA TODAY All-SEC poll