​BATON ROUGE — Lane Kiffin hasn’t coached a game for LSU football yet, but expectations for his first season are continuing to climb.The Tigers were picked to finish third in Kiffin’s first season in the Southeastern Conference in 2026 by USA TODAY as the outlets’ All-SEC team and predicted order of finish was released Monday. Comprised of 15 voters, who cover the majority of the teams in the league, the panel selected Texas as the SEC’s champion in the preseason as the Longhorns received nine first-place votes. Georgia had six first-place votes while LSU did not receive any.LSU is predicted to finish ahead of Ole Miss, Kiffin’s former team which made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season. That run was done without Kiffin on the sideline as he decided to accept the LSU job.FUTURE LSU FOOTBALL SCHEDULES LSU football cancels Arizona State series, adds more in-state opponentsNew LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, an Arizona State transfer, was named the preseason Newcomer of the Year.Four other Tigers landed on the USA TODAY All-SEC football team, including junior tight end Trey’Dez Green, newcomer offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, senior linebacker Whit Weeks and punter Grant Chadwick.LSU was one of two programs that had at least one player to make the All-SEC team on offense, defense and special teams entering this 2026 season. Texas was the other.2026 preseason All-SEC football teamOffenseQB: Trinidad Chambliss, Ole MissRB (2): Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss; Ahmad Hardy, MissouriWR (2): Cam Coleman, Texas; Mario Craver, Texas A&MTE:Trey’Dez Green, LSUOL (5):Cayden Green, Missouri; Drew Bobo, Georgia; Jordan Seaton, LSU; *Trevor Goosby, Texas; Wendell Moe, TennesseeDefenseDL (4): Colin Simmons, Texas; David Stone, Oklahoma; Dylan Stewart, South Carolina; Will Echoles, Ole MissLB (3): *Xavier Atkins, Auburn; Rasheem Biles, Texas; Whit Weeks, LSUDB (4): Bray Hubbard, Alabama; Ellis Robinson, Georgia; KJ Bolden, Georgia; Zabien Brown, AlabamaSpecial teamsK: Tate Sandell, OklahomaP:Grant Chadwick, LSUAll-Purpose: RB/WR Ryan Niblett, Texas2026 preseason SEC individual awardsSEC Coach of the Year: Steve Sarkisian, TexasSEC Player of the Year: QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole MissSEC Newcomer of the Year:QB Sam Leavitt, LSU*Notates unanimous All-SEC selectionPredicted order of finish for SEC football’s 2026 seasonFirst-place votes in parenthesisTexas (9)Georgia (6)LSUOle MissTexas A&MOklahomaAlabamaTennesseeFloridaMissouriAuburnSouth CarolinaVanderbiltKentuckyMississippi StateArkansasThe All-SEC team, individual awards and predicted order of finish were selected by a panel of 15 writers who cover the league: Ryan Black (Courier-Journal), John Brice (USA TODAY), Kevin Brockway (Gainesville Sun), Adam Cole (Montgomery Advertiser), Jackson Fuller (Southwest Times Record), Colin Gay (Tuscaloosa News), Aria Gerson (The Tennessean), Sam Hutchens (The Clarion-Ledger), Lulu Kesin (Greenville News), Calum McAndrew (Columbia Daily Tribune),Sam S