BATON ROUGE — LSU ranks No. 12 on USA Today's first Coaches Poll for the 2024 college football season.

LSU is the sixth-highest-ranking SEC team in the poll, behind Georgia at No. 1, Texas at No. 4, Alabama at No. 5, Ole Miss at No. 6 and Missouri at No. 11. Other top teams include Ohio State and Oregon at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. In total, 16 SEC teams made the Top 25.

The USA Today poll, conducted weekly throughout the regular season, determines its ranking with a panel of head coaches at FBS schools.

The Tigers' first opponent, the University of Southern California, is ranked No. 23. LSU faces off against the Trojans on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas at 6:30 p.m. on WBRZ.

LSU has made changes on both sides of the ball ahead of the season, including a new defensive staff and a patiently waiting quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, both of which head coach Brian Kelly has spoken about with great confidence over the past few weeks.