EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Tuesday, January 1^st, the (12-0) UCF Knights will take on the (9-3) LSU Tigers in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of LSU 29.4 – UCF 28.8 with an over/under of 58.1.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of UCF 28 – LSU 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of LSU 31 – UCF 28.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: UCF 268.9 YPG (29^th) > LSU 214.7 YPG (81^st)

Rushing offense: UCF 276.5 YPG (5^th) > LSU 174.7 YPG (58^th)

Scoring offense: UCF 44.2 PPG (6^th) > LSU 31.8 PPG (45^th)

Scoring defense: LSU 20.9 PPG (22^nd) > UCF 21.3 PPG (24^th)

Passing defense: UCF 196.2 (32^nd) > LSU 206.8 YPG (44^th)

Rushing defense: LSU 139.3 YPG (38^th) > UCF 227.4 YPG (118^th)

Turnover Margin Per Game: UCF +1.3 (3^rd) > LSU +0.8 (10^th)

Strength of Schedule:

LSU is (9-3) with victories over #8 Miami (FL), Southeastern Louisiana, #7 Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, #2 Georgia, #22 Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Rice.  They were defeated by #22 Florida, #1 Alabama, and #22 Texas A&M.

UCF is a perfect (12-0) with wins over UConn, South Carolina State, Florida Atlantic, Pittsburgh, SMU, Memphis, East Carolina, Temple, Navy, #24 Cincinnati, South Florida, and Memphis.

Betting Trends: 

-LSU is 6-6 against the spread this season while UCF is 10-2.

-LSU is 7-4-1 against the over/under this season whereas UCF is 5-7.

Bottom Line

UCF holds the nation’s longest active winning streak at 25 games.  Unfortunately for the Knights, their starting quarterback: McKenzie Milton, suffered a season ending leg injury in the win over South Florida.  Freshman Darriel Mack Jr. did an excellent job filling in against Memphis but LSU has one of the best defenses in the country.  UCF is one of the worst teams in the nation at stopping the run so look for Nick Brossette to have a field day.  LSU will control the line of scrimmage and the clock from the start.

LSU wins 33-20

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