LSU Football: Tigers end 25-game UCF winning streak in Fiesta Bowl

UCF football saw their hopes of a second consecutive perfect season go up in flames as LSU football ran away with the victory in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The last time UCF lost a game, Scott Frost was finishing up his first year as a head coach with a 31-13 loss to Arkansas State in the 2016 AutoNation Cure Bowl. For more than two calendar years since that defeat in mid-December, the Knights have not lost a single game. Thirteen of those wins came in the undefeated 2017 run culminating in the Peach Bowl win over Auburn and an NCAA-recognized national championship from Wes Colley’s computer rankings.

Then Frost left for Nebraska, and Josh Heupel got his first head-coaching opportunity in Orlando. The former Heisman runner-up at Oklahoma guided the Knights to another American Athletic Conference championship and a perfect regular season, extending the winning streak to 25 games across two years.

LSU was ultimately the third-best team in the SEC this season, and they found themselves depleted in the defensive backfield before the contest even started as stars like Greedy Williams opted to preserve their health for the NFL Draft. Once the contest began, several other LSU defensive backs were injured or ejected throughout the contest.

But the Tigers had the advantage up front on both sides of the ball, giving Joe Burrow time to carve up the Knights and for Nick Brossette to rack up 117 rushing yards on 29 carries. It was a solid effort by LSU, but Ed Orgeron’s team still struggled to punch the ball in once they reached the red zone.

Ultimately, UCF had several chances to tie up the game. First, they missed a great opportunity to recover an onside kick. Then, after holding LSU to a punt on the short field, they had 39 seconds to work. But a late interception by redshirt freshman quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. sealed the game.

A winning streak died, while another one began for the Bayou Bengals. What else can we take away from this New Year’s Six clash at the Fiesta Bowl between victorious LSU and vanquished UCF?