The University of Hawai'i football team, which finished 12-1 and appeared in its first Bowl Championship Series bowl game on Jan. 1, finished No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll and No. 19 in The Associated Press media poll, which were released last night.

LSU, which beat Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS title game last night, was No. 1 in both polls.

In the USA Today poll, USC was second, followed by Georgia, Ohio State and Missouri. Hawai'i was ranked No. 10 last week, but lost to Georgia, 41-10, in the Sugar Bowl.

In the AP poll, Georgia was No. 2, followed by USC, Missouri and Ohio State. Hawai'i was ranked No. 10 last week.

LSU climbed to the top of the AP poll for the third time this season, winning its second title after beating Ohio State last night.

"This truly is a great team," LSU coach Les Miles said. "There may be more talented ... but this is the best team."

The Tigers received 60 of 65 first-place votes from the media panel. Georgia received three first-place votes, USC got one and so did No. 7 Kansas.

The last time four teams received first-place votes in the final AP poll was after the 1977 season, when No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arkansas and No. 4 Texas split up the top votes.

It was the first time a team with two losses finished No. 1. Colorado was 11-1-1 when it won the 1990 AP national title.

After a wild season in which four teams were No. 1 and nine teams were No. 2, LSU shouldn't mind a little dissension. The top six teams in the poll all had two losses.

"Certainly there will be some argument as to who's the best team," Miles said.