THE BIG STORY

It was Nov. 7, 1959, when LSU last played a game as the No. 1-ranked football team in the Associated Press poll. The Tigers (5-0) will play No. 9 Florida (4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium as the No. 1 team.

LSU jumped over USC (4-0) Sunday with 33 first-place votes to 32 in the media poll for a total of 1,593 points to 1,591 despite USC beating Washington 27-24 Saturday night. LSU trailed 40-point underdog Tulane 9-7 in the second quarter Saturday after an 11 a.m. kickoff but woke up for a 34-9 win.

“This tells you that the voters didn’t get up early in the morning to watch our game,” LSU coach Les Miles said with a smile Sunday afternoon. “I think they kind of slept in and got caught up on the score later in the day.”

Miles said USC should have remained No. 1, and it did in the USA Today coaches poll and in the Harris poll. Those two are used in the Bowl Championship Series formula that will decide who plays in the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome. USC is the first No. 1 team to win and still drop from the AP poll since Nov. 3, 2002 when No. 1 Miami dropped after beating Rutgers, and No. 2 Oklahoma moved up after a win over No. 13 Colorado.

“We played poorly,” Miles said. “We can’t afford to play like that anymore for any length of time whether it’s a half or what. I think SC is a dynamic team and under-represented right now. They should be first probably.”

A look at the league: (more…)