Sunday’s news of the LSU Tigers’ ascension to the No. 1 position in The Associated Press poll was a surprise to most, especially members of the newly-crowned top team in the country.
“Wow,” said junior defensive end Tyson Jackson when asked about his initial reaction to the rankings. “I guess it was something really big that [USC] didn’t do to move them from out of the No. 1 spot. But I watched those guys, and they’re a very good team.”
The Trojans, who are still ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, squeaked by Washington, 27-24 Saturday night.
That win was apparently not enough for the AP to solidify USC’s top ranking, which they had held since the preseason AP poll was released in August.
In this week’s poll, the Trojans lost 11 first-place votes tLSU and received 32 first-place votes compared to the Tigers’ 33.
Sunday marked the first time a team has fallen from the No. 1 spot following a victory since Oklahoma overtook Miami at the top of the poll in November 2002.
LSU’s No. 1 ranking may mean very little when it comes to Bowl Championship Series national title implications. The AP is not one of the three polls taken into account when computing the BCS rankings, which debuts Oct. 15. The BCS factors in the Coaches’ Poll, Harris Poll and a combination of six computer rankings.
LSU coach Les Miles said the Tigers’ game Saturday against Tulane was not indicative of a No. 1 team.
“Anybody who voted for us No. 1 – it’s obvious that they did not get up in the morning and watch us play,” Miles said. “If they would have seen the first half [against Tulane], there’s no way they would have voted us No. 1.”
Although LSU beat Tulane 34-9, the Tigers struggled offensively throughout the game. They went into halftime with a 10-9 lead and finished the game with 15 penalties.
“Last week we didn’t have too good of a game,” said senior running back Jacob Hester. “I don’t know if we even deserve to be No. 1 right now. So we can’t really think about that. We can’t worry about if we’re [No.] 1, 2 or 121.”
Senior defensive end Tyson Jackson said the national rankings are more important to LSU fans than they are to players.
“To us, it’s just another day,” Jackson said. “What happened this Saturday with all those teams in the Top-10 [losing], we just got to be sure that this Saturday that [isn’t] us.”
Some LSU players said they learned of the news about the rankings in some unconventional ways.
Junior linebacker Darry Beckwith said he received a phone call from a friend telling him about LSU’s jump to No. 1. Senior quarterback Matt Flynn said he found out a day after the rankings were revealed.
“I didn’t really know we were ranked that until someone told me [Monday] morning,” Flynn said. “It’s not up to us how [voters] rank us. We just go out there and play.”
Five top-10 teams lost this past weekend, highlighted by then-No. 18 South Florida’s upset of then-No. 5 West Virginia and then-No. 3 Oklahoma’s loss to Colorado.
The abundance of upsets shook up more than just the top of the AP poll. South Florida’s win bumped them up to No. 6, and Kentucky’s No. 8 ranking is their first appearance in the top-10 since 1977.
No. 25 Nebraska was the only team to hold its position from this past week’s poll.
LSU players and coaches said the Tigers’ rise to No. 1 brings along even more expectations and pressure than the Tigers already had. Miles said he plans to keep his team’s focus on Florida by instituting a semi-embargo on the media.
“No newspapers, no television, no radio,” Miles said with a grin. “Don’t talk to your girlfriend about football … not that girlfriends are bad.”
Besides players and coaches, the LSU media relations department has had to handle an increase in attention and interview requests over the past few days.
Associate Sports Information Director Brian Miller said members of national media outlets like USA Today and The New York Times have shown more of an interest in LSU.
“We’ve gotten a little bit more national attention, but I don’t know if it’s because we got the No. 1 ranking [Sunday],” Miller said. “It just so happens we became No. 1 the same week we play Florida.”
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]