CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 LSU

9–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bill Arnsparger, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1985, game by game: won at North Carolina 23–13; won vs. Colorado State 17–3; lost vs. No. 11 Florida 0–20; won at Vanderbilt 49–7; won vs. Kentucky 10–0; won at Ole Miss 14–0; tied vs. No. 20 Alabama 14–14; won vs. Mississippi State 17–15; won at Notre Dame 10–7; won at Tulane 31–19; won vs. East Carolina 35–15; lost vs. Baylor 7–21+42−20Won 23–13 at North Carolina+10North CarolinaWon 17–3 vs. Colorado State+14Colorado StateLost 0–20 vs. No. 11 Florida-20No. 11 FloridaWon 49–7 at Vanderbilt+42VanderbiltWon 10–0 vs. Kentucky+10KentuckyWon 14–0 at Ole Miss+14Ole MissTied 14–14 vs. No. 20 Alabama0No. 20 AlabamaWon 17–15 vs. Mississippi State+2Mississippi Sta…Won 10–7 at Notre Dame+3Notre DameWon 31–19 at Tulane+12TulaneWon 35–15 vs. East Carolina+20East CarolinaLost 7–21 vs. Baylor-14Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14atNorth CarolinaW 23–⁠1345%
Sep 21vsColorado StateW 17–⁠379%
Oct 5vs11FloridaL 0–⁠2039%
Oct 12atVanderbiltW 49–⁠760%
Oct 19vsKentuckyW 10–⁠059%
Nov 2atOle MissW 14–⁠062%
Nov 9vs20AlabamaT 14–⁠1457%
Nov 16vsMississippi StateW 17–⁠1577%
Nov 23atNotre DameW 10–⁠748%
Nov 30atTulaneW 31–⁠1982%
Dec 7vsEast CarolinaW 35–⁠1589%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsBaylorLiberty BowlL 7–⁠2156%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 21–⁠7 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 20
  8. Wk 8: 17
  9. Wk 9: 18
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 15
  12. Wk 12: 19
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 12
  16. Wk 16: 12
  17. Final: 20

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1985.

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 8
Points
227–⁠134
Coach
Bill Arnsparger
Elo
1640 +83 this season
SP+ rating
10.2 No. 33 of 106; offense No. 80, defense No. 7
SRS
10.7 No. 24 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ed Zaunbrecher
Defensive coordinator
Mike Archer
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 2Garry James RBDetroit Lions
Rd 2Dalton Hilliard RBNew Orleans Saints

All-SEC

4 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida5–⁠19–⁠1–⁠15
Tennessee5–⁠19–⁠1–⁠24
LSU4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠120
Alabama4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠113
Georgia3–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠2
Auburn3–⁠38–⁠4
Ole Miss2–⁠44–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Kentucky1–⁠55–⁠6
Mississippi State0–⁠65–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.