LSU Football: 5 bold predictions for 2019 Fiesta Bowl vs. UCF

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Darriel Mack Jr. #8 of the UCF Knights celebrates after running in a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the American Athletic Championship against the Memphis Tigers at Spectrum Stadium on December 01, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. The Knights won 56-41. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

4. How much does strength of schedule really play in at this point?

This is an argument we have all heard multiple times about UCF, both this season and last. Strength of schedule is a big deal and UCF doesn’t have it. Blah. Blah. Blah. Are they right? Sure, UCF playing in the AAC and LSU in the SEC are two very different game slates. Let’s take a quick look at exactly who each team has played this year.

The AAC consists of teams like SMU, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis and Navy. Of course, we all know that the Golden Knights swept through their schedule with flying colorings including an AAC Championship win over the Memphis Tigers. However, this team played no one out of a Power Five conference and many are citing that as the reason they were overlooked by the committee for a berth into the College Football Playoff.

On the other side you have a three-loss LSU team. Those three losses? Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M. Throw in the fact that they play in the SEC West- one of the hardest divisions in College Football. They also played Miami and Georgia on top of that already grueling division schedule.

To be frank, LSU is much more battle tested than UCF in terms of strength of schedule. However, the question now is this- how much does that really mean heading into a bowl game? It didn’t mean much last season in the Peach Bowl for the Golden Knights and I am not so sure it’ll mean much of anything at this point either.

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