LSU falls 12 spots to No. 22 in AP Poll after Kentucky loss

LSU took a steep fall in the AP Top 25 this week. Voters dropped the Tigers 12 spots, from No. 10 to No. 22, after their Week 6 loss to Kentucky. That was the biggest drop of any team in the Oct. 12 poll.

LSU Tigers Wire reported that LSU, now 4-2, is the lowest-ranked of the eight SEC teams in the poll. Kentucky went the other way. The Wildcats were unranked last week and entered at No. 15 with a 5-1 record.

The rest of the SEC moved around too. Georgia beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and moved up to No. 1. Alabama stayed at No. 6 despite the loss. Texas was No. 1 last week but fell to No. 7 after losing to unranked Oklahoma. Ole Miss held at No. 9, and Missouri and Tennessee each rose one spot, to No. 13 and No. 14. Mississippi State also gained a spot and sits at No. 16, six places ahead of LSU.

That sets up a ranked matchup in Baton Rouge this week. No. 16 Mississippi State (4-1) visits No. 22 LSU on Saturday at noon Eastern on ESPN. LSU Tigers Wire wrote that the Tigers need to strengthen their résumé to get back into the top 10 and the College Football Playoff race. Alabama and Texas are still on the schedule, so LSU has chances to do that later. But a second straight loss, at home to a team ranked above them, would make that climb much harder.

The market expects the Tigers to bounce back. LSU is favored at -376 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game. The spread is LSU -12.5 and the total is 58.5. DraftKings has the best sportsbook price on LSU at -470. Odds and line details are on the Mississippi State at LSU page.

Those numbers favor LSU heavily, even though the Bulldogs are the higher-ranked team and come in with one loss to LSU's two. Mississippi State has a chance to pick up a road win over a ranked SEC opponent and hand LSU a third loss before the end of October.

Kentucky's first test as a ranked team is on the road. The Wildcats play at Oklahoma on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on SEC Network. The Sooners are 3-2 and unranked, but they just beat Texas when it was No. 1. Oklahoma is favored at -212 on Novig, with a spread of Oklahoma -6.5 and a total of 43.5. Pinnacle has the best sportsbook price on the Sooners at -254. More is on the Kentucky at Oklahoma page.

So both teams from last week's game face a key test. LSU is trying to show the Kentucky loss was a one-off. Kentucky has to show its jump into the poll was earned, against an Oklahoma team that has already beaten the nation's top-ranked team this season.