UCF football is trying to cap off their second-straight perfect season with a Fiesta Bowl win over LSU. An early pick-six put the Knights in the driver’s seat.
The defending national champions* return to a New Year’s Six Bowl against an SEC team with a chip on their shoulders. UCF has beaten everyone on their schedule and continues to be denied a shot at the College Football Playoff. With all courses of recourse exhausted in the near-term, UCF has been forced to take out their frustrations on the field.
It didn’t take long for those emotions to boil over in the 2018 Fiesta Bowl against LSU. After taking the lead on Greg McCrae 25-yard touchdown run, UCF extended their lead to 14-3 on a pick-six. The interception off the arm of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was returned 93-yards to the house by UCF defensive back Brandon Moore.
Moore read the pass, jumped the route and put LSU into an early hole:
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1080170731152048130
LSU is playing without a host of elite players due to injuries and NFL Draft entrants who elected to sit out, but the Tigers weren’t going to roll over that easily. Following Moore’s pick-six the Tigers answered with a pair of touchdowns of their own, retaking the lead 17-14 midway through the second quarter.
This highly-anticipated game has delivered plenty of excitement and great storylines so far. Both programs want this one: UCF to prove it belongs with the big dogs of college football and LSU to silence a Group of 5 challenger and enforce the SEC’s dominance.
LSU’s counterpunch proved it’s going to take more than one big play for UCF to leave Arizona with another SEC-sized upset. Just like they have all season, UCF will fight back. Buckle up. This is going to be a wild finish.