LSU football fell 35-34 to Kentucky in overtime at Kentucky, which scored a two-point conversion to win. The Week 6 defeat dealt a blow to the Tigers' College Football Playoff hopes in their first season under head coach Lane Kiffin.
As a result, LSU dropped in the national SP+ rankings. SP+, a statistic from ESPN, measures a team's efficiency adjusted for tempo and opponent. The Tigers gave a 21.7 rating, which lands them at No. 9 nationally. Those marks are down 0.1 and two spots, respectively, from where they started the week.
Georgia (28.3), which defeated Alabama in Week 6, fell out of the top spot to Ohio State (29.5). The No. 2 Bulldogs, No. 6 Texas (24.4), and No. 8 Alabama (23) round out the SEC's representation in the top 10 of SP+. The Crimson Tide fell two spots after suffering their first loss of 2026.
LSU hosts the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide in back-to-back weeks to begin November. The purple and gold welcome Mississippi State to Baton Rouge on Saturday, then travel to Auburn.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: ESPN's SP+ rankings keep LSU a top 10 team after Kentucky loss