It's a new era for LSU football, but there's going to be some work to do to get back to the mountaintop after recently winning a national championship with Ed Orgeron and Joe Burrow leading the way. The 2022 AP Top 25 preseason poll is out, and the Tigers only made it to the “others receiving votes” category with 55 points. This is the first time since 2000 LSU isn't in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, which was Nick Saban's first year coaching the team. They were also unranked in the first coaches poll revealed last week.

The 21-year streak had been the third-longest streak in the country behind only Ohio State and Oklahoma prior to this year:

It will be up to Brian Kelly to get LSU football back to national prominence. The early signs are good, with the 2022 recruiting class ranking 12th and the 2023 class currently coming in at No. 6, according to 247Sports.

While the Tigers need to prove themselves again under Kelly, the other usual suspects sit atop the preseason poll. Saban's Alabama squad comes in at No. 1, with Ohio State following at No. 2. The reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs sit at No. 3. Clemson and Notre Dame round out the top five.

LSU will play Alabama on Nov. 5 in Baton Rouge. The end of the regular season features a high-profile road matchup against Texas A&M, which is ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Two other LSU football opponents are in the AP Top 25: Arkansas (No. 19) and Ole Miss (No. 21).

It has been an eventful Monday for LSU football, with quarterback Myles Brennan leaving the program after losing out on the starting QB job.