College Football Insider | Week 15

2018 // week 15

week 15 what’s new “

QUOTE OF THE WEEK LSU is coming to the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl for the first time in its history! Here’s what head coach Ed Orgeron said about coming to Arizona.

This is where our team wanted to go.

When the possibilities of coming up to a certain bowl came up, in fact, our team wanted to go to the Fiesta Bowl.

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TEAM OF THE WEEK: UCF KNIGHTS With its 24-game winning streak and American Athletic Conference on the line, UCF beat Memphis, 56-41. The game, which was the first the Knights played without quarterback McKenzie Milton, started all Memphis.

The Tigers pounced on UCF, taking a 38-21 lead by the end of the first half. The Knights, led by freshman QB Darriel Mack Jr., refused to give up and fought to put together a furious rally in the second half, which ended with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to secure the win. The No. 8 Knights are coming to the Valley of the Sun after this heart-pounding win to play No. 11 LSU in the 48th annual PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

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Alabama Clemson Notre Dame Oklahoma

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Georgia Ohio State Michigan UCF

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Washington Florida LSU Penn State

For all Week 15 Rankings, click here.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2018 | WEEK 15

week 15 what’s on tap NEW YEARS 6 BOWL GAMES CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL

#7 MICHIGAN VS #10 FLORIDA 12.29 | 10:00 AM | ESPN GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC: CFP SEMIFINAL

#2 CLEMSON VS #3 NOTRE DAME 12.29 | 2:00 PM | ESPN CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: CFP SEMIFINAL

#1 ALABAMA VS #4 OKLAHOMA

Cal: Coming out of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) earned a trip to the Cheez-It® Bowl for the third time in its history. With a 2-0 record in the game, Cal beat Wyoming 17-15 in its first appearance at in 1990 and the Bears beat Virginia Tech in a 52-49 shootout in 2003 behind QB Aaron Rodgers.

Coach: Justin Wilcox Key Players: Patrick Laird, Running Back.

Evan Weaver, Linebacker.

TCU: Representing the Big 12 Conference, TCU (6-6, 4-5 Big 12) earned a trip to the Cheez-It® Bowl for the second time in the program history and its fifthstraight bowl game appearance. In its only time at the Cheez-It® Bowl, TCU lost a tight 17-16 game with Michigan State in 2012.

Coach: Gary Patterson Key Players: Jalen Reagor, Wide Receiver.

Ben Banogu, Defensive End

12.29 | 6:00 PM | ESPN PLAYSTATION® FIESTA BOWL

#8 UCF VS #11 LSU 1.1 | 11:00 AM | ESPN ROSE BOWL, PRESENTED BY NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL

#6 OHIO STATE VS #9 WASHINGTON 1.1 | 3:00 PM | ESPN ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

#5 GEORGIA VS #15 TEXAS 1.1 | 6:45 PM | ESPN CHEEZ-IT® BOWL

CAL VS TCU 12.26 | 7:00 PM | ESPN

For a full schedule of bowl games, click here.

UCF: Riding a 25-game winning streak, No. 8 UCF (12-0, 8-0 American) has been on a tear this year, beating all but one of its opponents by double-digit points. That 25-game winning streak is the longest current win streak in the country, stretching back to an undefeated season in 2017. The Knights won their only Fiesta Bowl matchup in January 2014 against Baylor, 52-42, and will be going to their third New Year’s Six Bowl game in the last six seasons.

Coach: Josh Heupel Key Players: Greg McCrae, Running Back.

Darriel Mack Jr., Quarterback.

LSU: No. 11 LSU (9-3, 5-3 SEC) comes to the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl with three big wins against then-No. 8 Miami, then-No.7 Auburn and a 36-16 victory over No. 5 Georgia.

LSU also was tough in its losses too, with two of them in a combined 10 points and on the road (including a seven OT loss at Texas A&M). The Tigers, making their first-ever Fiesta Bowl appearance, will be the sixth SEC team to play in the Fiesta Bowl and the last since 2000, where Tennessee lost to Nebraska, 31-21.

Coach: Ed Orgeron Key Players: Nick Brossette, Running Back.

Devin White, Linebacker.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2018 | WEEK 15

fiesta bowl facts #FIESTAFLASHBACK Click here for the Fiesta Bowl Flashback, highlighting Notre Dame’s 12-0 1988-89 season that ended with a national championship at the Fiesta Bowl.

SHORT AND TWEET IT’S OFFICIAL: @LSUFootball and @UCF_Football are heading to the 2018 @PlayStation #FiestaBowl! Get your tickets NOW: http://fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/ #GeauxTigers | #ChargeOn | #GreatnessAwaits

THE MATCHUP IS SET! @TCUfootball and @CalFootball are coming to the 2018 #CheezItBowl!

Get your tickets NOW: https://cheezitbowl.com #GoFrogs | #GoBears

This week, No. 1 Notre Dame is on a bye, turning its focus to its upcoming National Championship game against No. 3 West Virginia at the Fiesta Bowl.

FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES On December 1st, the Arizona community and organizations like Fiesta Bowl Charities, Lerner and Rowe Give Back, KaBOOM! and over 200 volunteers, came to the Arizona Recreation Center for the Handicapped and built a custom playground for hundreds of Arizona youth in just six hours.

After a fire burnt down the original one, the Fiesta Bowl reached out to ARCH and helped set the course to build a new playground, eliminating all cost for the center. Click here to read more.

Please contact the Fiesta Bowl Communications staff for photos and videos to add to your social media posts.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2018 | WEEK 15

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DECEMBER 26, 2018 CHASE FIELD 7:00 PM MST

JANUARY 1, 2019 STATE FARM STADIUM 11:00 AM MST