FSU Headed To Championship Game, UCF To Fiesta Bowl
By Brian Ormiston // December 9, 2013
SEE COMPLETE BOWL GAME SCHEDULE BELOW
UCFKnights.com — The 2013 campaign has been a memorable party for UCF fans all season long and the #UCFiesta will continue into 2014 when the Knights travel to Glendale, Ariz., for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl where it will clash with Big 12 champion Baylor Jan. 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets are already on sale for fans looking to sit in great UCF sections at the University of Phoenix Stadium so order online today.
Call the UCF Ticket Office at 407-UCF-1000 starting Sunday from 8:30-10 p.m and visit UCF’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Ticket Central Page.
Sunday’s announcement came exactly 10 years to the day from UCF hiring George O’Leary as its head coach.
BAYLOR RANKED 6TH IN BCS POLL
UCF President John C. Hitt said he is proud that UCF ranks among the nation’s best both on the field and in the classroom.
“Earning a bid to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is an outstanding way to conclude UCF’s 50th anniversary year,” Hitt said. “Congratulations to George and our `Cardiac Knights’ for their thrilling victories all season.
“I can’t wait to see our fans make the trip to Arizona to cheer on the Knights to conclude such a historic year.”
Coach O’Leary and the Knights claimed the outright American Athletic Conference title, going undefeated in conference play for the first time in school history at 8-0. They already have matched the program record with 11 wins, and are ranked No. 15 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll, the highest marks since the program’s inception in 1979.
This will be UCF’s first BCS bowl and its sixth bowl game in the last nine seasons, with its first appearance coming in the 2005 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. The Knights along with Baylor, Auburn and Michigan State were four programs who went unranked in the preseason poll but went on to reach a BCS bowl game this year.
UCF will enter the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on a school-record eight-game winning streak. The Black and Gold has key victories over then-No. 8/6 Louisville and Penn State en route to an 11-1 record, while it holds a 6-0 mark away from Orlando. Its only loss was a 28-25 decision to then-No. 12/13 South Carolina Sept. 28.
BAYLOR QB BRYCE PETTY HAS 30 TDs THIS SEASON
The Knights have never faced No. 6/5 Baylor on the gridiron, and are 17-9 all-time against teams from the Lone Star State. The Bears also are 11-1 this year with their lone loss coming at Oklahoma State, and they are coming off a 30-10 win over Texas Dec. 7 which sealed their Big 12 title as they went 8-1 in the league.
Junior signal-caller Bryce Petty ranks as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, throwing for 30 touchdowns and just two interceptions, all while racking up 3,844 yards. He leads an offense that is first in the FBS with 624.5 total yards per game and 53.3 points per game.
On the other side of the ball, the Bears are 17th in total defense and 19th in scoring defense. Five different players have at least 10.0 tackles for loss and 11 players have notched one interception or more.
In the final BCS standings, UCF stood at No. 15, its highest in the history of the BCS. Baylor checked in at No. 6.
COMPLETE BOWL GAME SCHEDULE
No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Auburn, Jan. 6 at 8:30
The 2013-14 bowl season starts in Albuquerque, N.M., and ends in Pasadena, Calif. Here’s a look at the bowl lineup from the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 21 to the VIZIO BCS National Championship on Jan. 6 in the Rose Bowl.
Bowl | Location/Tickets | Date/Time | Network |
---|---|---|---|
Gildan New Mexico Washington State vs. Colorado State |
Albuquerque, N.M. University Stadium |
Dec. 21 2 p.m. |
ESPN |
Royal Purple Las Vegas Fresno State vs. USC |
Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium |
Dec. 21 3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
Famous Idaho Potato Buffalo vs. San Diego State |
Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium |
Dec. 21 5:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
R+L Carriers New Orleans Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette |
New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
Dec. 21 9 p.m. |
ESPN |
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg East Carolina vs. Ohio |
St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field |
Dec. 23 2 p.m. |
ESPN |
Sheraton Hawaii Boise State vs. Oregon State |
Honolulu Aloha Stadium |
Dec. 24 8 p.m. |
ESPN |
Little Caesars Pizza Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green |
Detroit Ford Field |
Dec. 26 6 p.m. |
ESPN |
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Utah State vs. Northern Illinois |
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium |
Dec. 26 9:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman Marshall vs. Maryland |
Annapolis, Md. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium |
Dec. 27 2:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Texas Syracuse vs. Minnesota |
Houston Reliant Stadium |
Dec. 27 6 p.m. |
ESPN |
Fight Hunger BYU vs. Washington |
San Francisco AT&T Park |
Dec. 27 9:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
New Era Pinstripe Rutgers vs. Notre Dame |
Bronx, N.Y. Yankee Stadium |
Dec. 28 Noon |
ESPN |
Belk Cincinnati vs. North Carolina |
Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium |
Dec. 28 3:20 p.m. |
ESPN |
Russell Athletic Miami vs. Louisville |
Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl |
Dec. 28 6:45 p.m. |
ESPN |
Buffalo Wild Wings Michigan vs. Kansas State |
Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium |
Dec. 28 10:15 p.m. |
ESPN |
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Middle Tennessee vs. Navy |
Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium |
Dec. 30 11:45 a.m. |
ESPN |
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech |
Nashville, Tenn. LP Field |
Dec. 30 3:15 p.m. |
ESPN |
Valero Alamo Oregon vs. Texas |
San Antonio Alamodome |
Dec. 30 6:45 p.m. |
ESPN |
National University Holiday Arizona State vs. Texas Tech |
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium |
Dec. 30 10:15 p.m. |
ESPN |
AdvoCare V100 Arizona vs. Boston College |
Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium |
Dec. 31 12:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Hyundai Sun Virginia Tech vs. UCLA |
El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl |
Dec. 31 2 p.m. |
CBS |
AutoZone Liberty Rice vs. Mississippi State |
Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl |
Dec. 31 4 p.m. |
ESPN |
Chick-fil-A Duke vs. Texas A&M |
Atlanta Georgia Dome |
Dec. 31 8 p.m. |
ESPN |
TaxSlayer.com Gator Nebraska vs. Georgia |
Jacksonville, Fla. Everbank Field |
Jan. 1 Noon |
ESPN2 |
Heart of Dallas UNLV vs. North Texas |
Dallas Cotton Bowl |
Jan. 1 Noon |
ESPNU |
Capital One Wisconsin vs. South Carolina |
Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl |
Jan. 1 1 p.m. |
ABC |
Outback Iowa vs. LSU |
Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium |
Jan. 1 1 p.m. |
ESPN |
Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO Stanford vs. Michigan State |
Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl |
Jan. 1 5 p.m. |
ESPN |
Tostitos Fiesta UCF vs. Baylor |
Glendale, Ariz. U. of Phoenix Stadium |
Jan. 1 8:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Allstate Sugar Oklahoma vs. Alabama |
New Orleans Louisiana Superdome |
Jan. 2 8:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
Discover Orange Clemson vs. Ohio State |
Miami Sun Life Stadium |
Jan. 3 TBD |
ESPN |
AT&T Cotton Oklahoma State vs. Missouri |
Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium |
Jan. 3 7:30 p.m. |
FOX |
BBVA Compass Vanderbilt vs. Houston |
Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field |
Jan. 4 1 p.m. |
ESPN |
GoDaddy Arkansas State vs. Ball State |
Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium |
Jan. 5 9 p.m. |
ESPN |
VIZIO BCS National Championship No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Auburn |
Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl |
Jan. 6 8:30 p.m. |
ESPN |