I'm baffled. Help me understand how LSU was ranked higher than UT going into the season?

[Volador]

Truly, this is a head scratcher. The Noles played a solid 4 quarter game last night and ran away w the prize in the second half - leaving Coach Kelly in a pretty fowl mood about their performance. We embarrassed the Tigers in Baton Rouge and had a better record in 2022. We beat Clemson handily in the Orange Bowl and LSU beat Purdue in the Cheez It Citrus Bowl - who btw, lost Saturday to Fresno State at HOME on Saturday. How/why did LSU earn/deserve the #5 spot?

I do not have the answer but, have provided a few options as to why the poll voters thought so much more highly of LSU vs UT. If you think it is something other than those options, than please chime in because this one just has me baffled.

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And w a long way to go this season, who knows of these poll prognosticators could be 100% accurate? This is a now question, not a later question. Happy Labor Day Vol Fans!!

 

[perico]

Returning starting QB who had a stellar 2nd half of 2022 and the guy considered one of the 2-3 best defenders in the conference.

 

[MiramarVol]

We stomped a mud hole in their Tiger Tails and even won our Bowl game over an even tougher opponent in Clemson. The same with Bama and their QB who will get exposed down the line. We beat both and start out lower. LSU proved who they are last night.

 

[MEDVOL]

Media pundits are clueless.

 

[508mikey]

Big 10 has 20 schools and Michigan still has the softest Power 5 schedule in the Nation - so why are they ranked so high

 

[bpalmer28]

Personally I think the narrative surrounding Milton hurts us in the rankings more than anything. Everyone knows he has a cannon, but there are a lot of doubters out there. Listen to how Jessie Palmer called the game, for example. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it sounded to me like he expects Milton to struggle. It’s gotten to a point where every time he makes a throw that isn’t on target, people talk about his accuracy being a problem. That takes a toll on an individual’s opinion over time.

 

[WillisWG]

everything gets settled on the field.

 

[tobybeast]

Other: UT has a gimmick offense that all the other coaches have figured out and will stop.

 

[Alto1]

Other.
A bunch of Kelly nut huggers in the media….

 

[Orange931]

Returning starting QB who had a stellar 2nd half of 2022 and the guy considered one of the 2-3 best defenders in the conference.

Our returning QB stomped Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Hooker was injured. We had no Hyatt or Hooker and have returned the majority of the team plus did fairly well in the portal. Milton put on a show in prime time, not Hooker.

 

[Cosmo]

Beat Bama to win the west (after we had lost) and their first game against a ranked FSU. ESPN favors the matchup.

 

[RockyTop140]

Personally I think the narrative surrounding Milton hurts us in the rankings more than anything. Everyone knows he has a cannon, but there are a lot of doubters out there. Listen to how Jessie Palmer called the game, for example. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it sounded to me like he expects Milton to struggle. It’s gotten to a point where every time he makes a throw that isn’t on target, people talk about his accuracy being a problem. That takes a toll on an individual’s opinion over time.

If Milton plays like he did against Clemson or this past Saturday, that’s good enough for us to be a very good team. Mistake free football, hit some downfield passes. I can’t complain about his performance

 

[Volnanza]

Big 10 has 20 schools and Michigan still has the softest Power 5 schedule in the Nation - so why are they ranked so high

Softer than Georgia? That's hard to imagine.

 

[Delmar]

Obviously some folks haven’t quite bought in to UT’s resurgence. Just have to keep proving it to them. And if LSU shows a pulse, they’ll get put in the top 10. There are several teams around like that. (Big 10 cough, cough)

 

[lilesrt]

We haven’t been good long enough to get the benefit of the doubt. I’m still in this camp. Cautious optimism. It’s difficult to dismiss 15 years of terrible football with 2 successful seasons.

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

Other: The media likes their coach and brand more for whatever reason.

 

[Boston Vol]

The returned a bunch of starters off of a team that overachieved in Kelly’s first year. Them winning the west last year after what Kelly inherited was a pretty impressive accomplishment. People were just assuming that there were would a jump between in performance between year 1 and 2.

 

[sami]

Media pundits are clueless.

This is actually a perfect catch-all answer for any question about the media or alleged "experts".

The media is in love with Kelly and the LSU name, and totally bought into the Daniels hype.

 

[joevol33]

We haven’t been good long enough to get the benefit of the doubt. I’m still in this camp. Cautious optimism. It’s difficult to dismiss 15 years of terrible football with 2 successful seasons.

I get that, but watch what they do if Colorado wins another game, if not this week. The media pushes certain schools/coaches, we're just not one of them.

 

[MORESTEAM_VFL]

GBO

 

[Vol737]

The media is never biased. They know more than we do.

I could not care less about preseason rankings, though. Winning always has a way of sorting that out. Underdog status should be relished.

 

[Orange931]

The media is never biased. They know more than we do.

I could not care less about preseason rankings, though. Winning always has a way of sorting that out. Underdog status should be relished.

The underdog thing is way overplayed. You should be rewarded for being great/elite.

 

[jcvols24]

Wait till LSU comes in still ranked ahead of us after that embarrassing showing. Rankings won't reflect a teams true strength until mid season.

 

[sami]

We haven’t been good long enough to get the benefit of the doubt. I’m still in this camp. Cautious optimism. It’s difficult to dismiss 15 years of terrible football with 2 successful seasons.

Hard for me to believe that anyone still thinks like this. Those 15 years are history, becoming more ancient by the week.

As soon as the administration was turned over and a real pro was hired as AD, and Heupel delivered a season like 2022 with the recruiting to back it up, those 15 years ceased to exist except as a bad memory and cautionary tale to those in charge.

 

[TCNC53]

Other: UT has a gimmick offense that all the other coaches have figured out and will stop.

Funny. Sure seems that I heard of lot of commentary this weekend about “going uptempo and really making it hard on the opposing defenses to get set, and get the right players on the field, etc.” - now it’s great plan. Last year when we were doing it with much success, “it’s a gimmicky offense / a system that doesn’t really help players hoping to play at the next level…”. So which is it - a gimmick or a good thing? Imitation is the highest form of flattery they say….