BATON ROUGE – The hype for the 2009 college football season is well underway and LSU is getting its share of attention as the Tigers have been ranked No. 8 in the Sporting News’ preseason top 25, which was released on Thursday.

LSU returns 13 starters, including offensive standouts Charles Scott, Ciron Black, and Brandon Lafell, from a team that went 8-5 a year ago. LSU capped last year with a 38-3 win over Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The Tigers are one of three Southeastern Conference teams in the Sporting News Top 10 as they are joined by No. 1-ranked Florida and fifth-ranked Ole Miss. Other SEC teams in the top 25 include Alabama at No. 13 and Georgia at No. 15.

LSU plays all four of the other SEC teams in the Sporting News top 25 this year. The Tigers host top-ranked Florida on Oct. 10 and they travel to face Georgia on Oct. 3, Alabama on Nov. 7 and Ole Miss on Nov. 21.

The Tigers open their fifth season under head coach Les Miles on Sept. 5 against Washington in Seattle. LSU opens its fall camp on Aug. 5 with its first practice slated for Aug. 6.

Sporting News

Preseason Top 25

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma

4. Southern Cal

5. Ole Miss

6. Virginia Tech

7. Oregon

8. LSU

9. Ohio State

10. Oklahoma State

11. Georgia Tech

12. Penn State

13. Alabama

14. Boise State

15. Georgia

16. Oregon State

17. Florida State

18. Notre Dame

19. Utah

20. Texas Tech

21. California

22. BYU

23. North Carolina

24. TCU

25. Kansas