LSU Drops In ESPN's Latest College Football Power Rankings

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9. LSU Tigers
Previous ranking: 5

Well, at least it's out of the way now. Losing at Ole Miss might have come as a shock to the exuberant LSU fan base, but the Rebels had a lot of advantages in the matchup -- from being at home, to having a quarterback who has been running that offense for more than a year now at an incredibly high clip. Plus, of course, Pete Golding knows Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. better than anyone. And despite all that -- and an early 17-point deficit -- the Tigers still had a shot to win in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. It's not an ideal outcome, but it should probably be more reassuring than deflating. The playoff is still a realistic goal in Year 1 of a long-term play for Kiffin. -- David Hale

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