The 2019 Fiesta Bowl was a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

that was played on January 1, 2019. It was the 48th edition of the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

, and was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by

Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

via its

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

brand, the game was officially known as the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. The LSU Tigers defeated the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...

by the score of 40–32, snapping UCF's 25-game winning streak, the longest in the nation at the time. The Tigers dominated time of possession (44:31) and racked up 555 yards of offense. The Knights offense was held to a season-low 250 total yards, but scored a Fiesta Bowl record 93-yard interception return for a touchdown. Despite the loss, the Knights extended their

NCAA Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

record with their 26th consecutive game scoring 30 or more points, and the FBS-leading 32nd consecutive game forcing a turnover. It was LSU's 26th

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, storing, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom, forming a seamless curve ...

victory, and first

victory. In a game that was described as "chippy", three players were ejected in the first half alone, two for LSU and one for UCF. Tigers

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Terrence Alexander was ejected for throwing a punch, while

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

Grant Delpit was ejected for targeting. Knights defender Kyle Gibson was ejected for targeting, while

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Nate Evans and

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Randy Charlton each committed costly

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...

penalties. With the two participating schools both from the

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

, the announced attendance for the game was 57,246, the lowest since

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Teams

The game featured

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) and UCF of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(The American). This was the first meeting between the two programs.

LSU Tigers

LSU accepted a bid to the

on December 2. The Tigers entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference). It would be their first appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, and mark their nineteenth consecutive season playing in a postseason

. LSU entered the game depleted, however, as a number of players would sit out due to various reasons. They were also coming off an exhausting 7-OT loss against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Greedy Williams Andraez Montrell "Greedy" Williams (born December 3, 1997) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. Early ...

and

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Ed Alexander elected to skip the game to prepare for the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. Kristian Fulton and Breiden Fehoko both were out due to injuries, while Jacob Phillips was required to sit out the first half due to a targeting penalty in their previous game. Three additional players did not make the trip, Kelvin Joseph and Dare Rosenthal, suspended for violating team rules, and Travez Moore for "personal issues." Despite being involved in a fatal shooting days earlier, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jared Small were available to play, as was Kary Vincent, mourning the recent loss of a family member.

UCF Knights

UCF defeated Memphis in the AAC Championship Game on December 1, then accepted a bid to the Fiesta Bowl on December 2. The Knights entered the bowl with a 12–0 record (8–0 in conference), riding an overall 25-game winning streak dating back to the start of the 2017 season. It would be the second appearance by the Knights in the

, as they defeated Baylor 52–42 in the 2014 edition. The biggest story entering the game was the loss of starting quarterback

McKenzie Milton McKenzie Milton (born October 10, 1997) is an American college football coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the UCF Knights football, UCF Knights. He was formerly an offensive analyst for the Tennessee Volunteers football, Tennessee Voluntee ...

. During the second quarter against

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, Milton suffered a devastating leg injury, sidelining him for rest of the season. He would never play another down for the Knights. Freshman Darriel Mack Jr. took over at quarterback, and led the team to victory in that game, and to a comeback victory against Memphis in the conference championship game. The Fiesta Bowl would be only Mack's third career start.

Game summary

First quarter

LSU won the coin toss and elected to receive. Clyde Edwards-Helaire took the opening kickoff back 77 yards all the way to the UCF 16 yard line. The Knights defense, however, stiffened, and kept the Tigers out of the endzone. Cole Tracy kicked a 24-yard field goal for the first points of the game. On their first drive, Darriel Mack Jr. led the Knights on a 6-play, 69-yard drive. A 25-yard touchdown run by Greg McCrae put the Knights up 7–3. LSU drove to the Knights 15 yard line, but quarterback

Joe Burrow Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, O ...

was intercepted by Brandon "Bam" Moore at the 7 yard line. Moore ran the ball back 93 yards for the touchdown (a Fiesta Bowl record), and a 14–3 Knights lead. During the return, defensive lineman Joey Connors made a legal blindside block on Burrow, sending him to the ground, but he was able to recover. Nate Evans drew a penalty, however, for taunting Burrow after the play, and it was assessed on the kickoff. On the next drive, LSU faced a 3rd down & 12 at the UCF 41 yard line. Kyle Gibson sacked Burrow for a 6-yard loss. Randy Charlton was able to wrestle the ball away from Burrow, but not before Burrow was whistled down by contact. Charlton was subsequently flagged for an

penalty after spiking the ball. The penalty proved costly as it gave LSU new life, and was a turning point in the game. The Tigers were awarded 15 yards and a first down. Six plays later they were in the endzone for their first touchdown. Driving across midfield in the closing seconds of the first quarter, quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. was tackled on a run, and fumbled the ball, and LSU recovered.

Second quarter

LSU scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second quarter, erasing the deficit, and pulled out to a 24–14 lead. Meanwhile, the Knights went three-and-out twice, and also turned the ball over on downs in Tigers territory. With under two minutes left before halftime, LSU pinned UCF back at their own 5 yard line. Mack led the Knights on a 10-play, 95-yard drive, capped off by a much-needed score. Facing a 3rd down & 14 at the LSU 32 yard line, Mack threw a touchdown pass to Gabe Davis at the back of the endzone with 4 seconds left. At halftime, LSU led 24–21.

Third quarter

UCF got the ball to start the second half, but went three-and-out on their first three drives. LSU scored a 32-yard touchdown from Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase, and also kicked a field goal to go up 34–21. With 3:56 left in the third quarter, Mack Loudermilk's punt was muffed by Tigers return man Justin Jefferson, and UCF recovered at the 20 yard line. The Knights had to settle for a field goal, however, and kicker Matthew Wright trimmed the score to 34–24.

Fourth quarter

LSU tacked on two more field goals in the fourth quarter, and stretched their lead to 40–24. With just over four minutes remaining in regulation, the Knights went on a swift 75-yard scoring drive. A 2-yard touchdown run by Taj McGowan, followed by a two-point conversion, made the score 40–32 with 2:24 remaining. The Knights attempted an onside kick, but failed to recover. The Knights defense forced a three-and-out, and got one last possession with 35 seconds to go. With 20 seconds left, Mack's pass attempt deflected off of players, and was intercepted by JaCoby Stevens to seal the win for LSU, ending UCF's bid to go undefeated in consecutive seasons.

Scoring summary

Statistics

References

External links

Box score
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 Fiesta Bowl (01)

Fiesta Bowl LSU Tigers football bowl games UCF Knights football bowl games January 2019 sports events in the United States 2019 in sports in Arizona