# 2017 LSU Tigers football team

The 2017 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Ed Orgeron after he led the Tigers as interim head coach for the final eight games of 2016. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in SEC play to finish in third place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they lost to Notre Dame.
The Tigers equaled an FBS record by committing only eight turnovers during the season, becoming the sixth FBS team to do so. The record would fall the next season to Georgia Southern, which had only five turnovers.

## Recruiting
### Position key

| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB |
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E |
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K |
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB |
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB |
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |

### Recruits

The Tigers signed a total of 23 recruits.
College recruiting information (2017) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tyler Shelvin DT | Crowley, Louisiana | Notre Dame HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 360 lb (160 kg) | Mar 11, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Catholic HS | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | Feb 13, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jontre Kirklin CB | Lutcher, Louisiana | Lutcher HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 13, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Patrick Queen RB | Livonia, Louisiana | Livonia HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | Feb 27, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ed Ingram OG | DeSoto, Texas | DeSoto HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 325 lb (147 kg) | Apr 15, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Austin Deculus OT | Cypress, Texas | Cy-Fair HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 331 lb (150 kg) | May 20, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tory Carter FB | Leesburg, Georgia | Lee County HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | May 21, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Aaron Moffitt DE | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Catholic HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | May 23, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Saahdiq Charles OG | Madison, Mississippi | Madison-Ridgeland Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 314 lb (142 kg) | May 24, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Mannie Netherly WR | Crosby, Texas | Crosby HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 24, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Grant Delpit S | Houston, Texas | IMG Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 9, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Seth Stewart OT | Point Pleasant, West Virginia | Point Pleasant HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 320 lb (150 kg) | Jul 23, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kary Vincent Jr. CB | Port Arthur, Texas | Memorial HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 24, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Neil Farrell Jr. DT | Mobile, Alabama | Murphy HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 295 lb (134 kg) | Jul 26, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| JaCoby Stevens S | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | Oakland HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 8, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Justin Thomas DE | Spanish Fort, Alabama | Spanish Fort HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Aug 13, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Myles Brennan QB | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi | Saint Stanislaus College | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Dec 15, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Lowell Narcisse QB | St. James Parish, Louisiana | St. James HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | Dec 19, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Racey McMath WR | New Orleans, Louisiana | Edna Karr HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jan 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jacob Phillips LB | Nashville, Tennessee | East Nashville Magnet School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | Jan 26, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tyler Taylor LB | Buford, Georgia | Lanier HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Todd Harris S | Plaquemine, Louisiana | Plaquemine HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| K'Lavon Chaisson DE | Houston, Texas | North Shore HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "LSU Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017. "2017 LSU Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule

LSU announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home, 5 away and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Tigers hosted SEC foes Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M, and traveled to Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
The Tigers hosted three of the four non-conference opponents, Chattanooga from the FCS Southern Conference, Syracuse from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Troy from the Sun Belt Conference and traveled to New Orleans to for a neutral site matchup against independent BYU.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:30 p.m. | vs. BYU* | No. 13 | Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Texas Kickoff) | ESPN | W 27–0 | 53,826 |
| September 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Chattanooga* | No. 12 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | SECN | W 45–10 | 97,289 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | at Mississippi State | No. 12 | Davis Wade StadiumStarkville, MS (rivalry / SEC Nation) | ESPN | L 7–37 | 60,596 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Syracuse* | No. 25 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | ESPN2 | W 35–26 | 96,044 |
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Troy* | No. 25 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | ESPNU | L 21–24 | 99,879 |
| October 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 21 Florida | | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry / SEC Nation) | CBS | W 17–16 | 88,247 |
| October 14 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 10 Auburn | | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (Tiger Bowl) | CBS | W 27–23 | 101,601 |
| October 21 | 6:15 p.m. | at Ole Miss | No. 24 | Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS (Magnolia Bowl) | ESPN | W 40–24 | 64,067 |
| November 4 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Alabama | No. 19 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (rivalry / SEC Nation) | CBS | L 10–24 | 101,821 |
| November 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Arkansas | No. 24 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | ESPN | W 33–10 | 98,546 |
| November 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tennessee | No. 20 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | ESPN | W 30–10 | 96,888 |
| November 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Texas A&M | No. 18 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | SECN | W 45–21 | 97,675 |
| January 1, 2018 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. No. 14 Notre Dame* | No. 17 | Camping World StadiumOrlando, FL (Citrus Bowl) | ABC | L 17–21 | 57,726 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||
    Schedule Source:
    The game between LSU and BYU was originally scheduled to take place at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. However, due to massive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, school and game officials decided to relocate the game to New Orleans.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 13 | 12 | 12 | 25 | 25 | — | RV | 24 | 23 | 19 | RV | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 18 |
| Coaches | 12 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 22 | — | RV | 25 | 23 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | Not released |