For a second straight season, University of Central Florida carry an undefeated record into a prestigious bowl game against an SEC power. Will the Knights be able to extend the longest active winning streak in college football with a backup quarterback facing LSU’s menacing secondary?

Fiesta Bowl Betting Analysis

The Tigers fared better than expected in what was expected to be a rebuilding year for the program. Coach Ed Orgeron brought in a good chunk of new starters on the offensive side of the ball.

LSU finished 9-3 straight up (6-6 against the spread) and picked up wins over Miami, Auburn and Georgia. The team was shutout by Alabama and lost 29-17 to Florida at The Swamp. Even worse, its defence collapsed in the regular season finale against Texas A&M. The Aggies inched past the Tigers 74-72 in a game that eclipsed the Over/Under line by 100 points.

Central Florida enters the Fiesta Bowl with a 25-game win streak on the line. The winning run hasn’t just benefited points spread bettors. The Knights are 17-7-1 against the spread over the last two seasons.

It hasn’t been a strong bowl season for UCF’s conference mates. The American Athletic Conference is 1-4 straight up and against the number in bowl games so far with Cincinnati still to play Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. Temple, Memphis and South Florida were all wrecked by their non-conference opponents in the postseason.

There’s been no movement on the spread in this game, but the total has moved up 1.5 points from the opening number.

Louisiana State Tigers

The Bayou Bengals are known for their defensive backs. The program has produced some of the best DBs in NFL this century including Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Eric Reid.

There’s another strong class of players in the secondary this year, but many of those names won’t be on the field for the Fiesta Bowl. Future pro Greedy Williams is sitting out while he prepares for the NFL Draft and his partner cornerback Kelvin Joseph is out while he serves a team-issued suspension.

Central Florida Knights

Those missing bodies in LSU’s secondary is good news for UCF backers. McKenzie Milton, the focal point of Central Florida’s offence the last two and half years, suffered a season-ending knee injury against South Florida in late November.

That leaves freshman Darriel Mack Jr. to quarterback the Knights against LSU. He racked up six total touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over Memphis in the AAC championship game.

Tigers vs. Knights Prediction