BATON ROUGE – LSU football got into the win column for the first time in 2024 with its 44-21 win over Nicholls in its home opener Saturday.

The Tigers (1-1) opened the season with a 27-20 loss in Las Vegas to USC.

LSU struggled with the Colonels, an FCS opponent, for a larger portion of the night, leading by just nine points at halftime and Nicholls cut the lead back down to just two, 23-21, on the first possession of the second half.

From there, the Tigers finally seized control of the game, scoring the final 21 points as their defense put up a couple of stops as well as forcing a turnover which led to a quick score. Junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for six touchdowns, which tied for second-most in program history in a single game.

WHAT LSU NEEDS TO FIX 'Clock is ticking' for LSU football. What Tigers need to fix before South Carolina game

LSU GRADES FOLLOWING NICHOLLS WIN LSU football took control late to down Nicholls. Here's how we graded the Tigers' win

LSU ranked No. 19 in the US LBM Coaches Poll this week and No. 18 in the Associated Press poll.

LSU rankings update

After getting their first win of the season, the Tigers moved up two spots in both the US LBM Coaches and Associated Press Polls, up to No. 17 in the Coaches Poll and up to No. 16 in AP Poll. LSU is the highest-ranked team with a loss in the AP Poll and is the second-highest ranked team with a loss. Michigan which lost to No. 3 Texas is right above LSU at No. 16.

College football rankings, Week 3

US LBM Coaches Poll

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. Texas

4. Alabama

5. Ole Miss

6. Oregon

7. Penn State

8. Missouri

9. Tennessee

10. Utah

11. USC

12. Miami

13. Oklahoma

14. Oklahoma State

15. Kansas State

16. Michigan

17. LSU

18. Arizona

19. Notre Dame

20. Clemson

21. Louisville

22. Washington

23. Iowa State

24. Nebraska

25. Memphis

AP Top 25 Poll

1. Georgia

2. Texas

3. Ohio State

4. Alabama

5. Ole Miss

6. Missouri

7. Tennessee

8. Penn State

9. Oregon

10. Miami

11. USC

12. Utah

13. Oklahoma State

14. Kansas State

15. Oklahoma

16. LSU

17. Michigan

18. Notre Dame

19. Louisville

20. Arizona

21. Iowa State

22. Clemson

23. Nebraska

24. Boston College

25. Northern Illinois

GARRETT NUSSMEIER LEADS LSU TO WIN LSU football puts away Nicholls behind Garrett Nussmeier's career night

JU'JUAN JOHNSON Freshman Ju'Juan Johnson has made the move to running back for LSU football

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football rankings: Tigers in updated college polls