GLENDALE, Ariz. — Coach Ed Orgeron was still LSU’s interim head coach the last time UCF lost a game. 
The Knights’ 25-game winning streak ended Tuesday as the Tigers took them down in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl 40-32. 
“First of all, we want to congratulate the guy on our team and our coaching staff,” Orgeron said. “This was a tremendous year and we got to come out west for a business trip. I do want to compliment Central Florida. They have an excellent football team, they were well coached. What a heck of a football game.”
Quarterback Joe Burrow had the best game of his LSU career, going 21-of-34 for 394 yards and 4 touchdowns. 
Senior kicker Cole Tracy also went 4-for-4 on field goals, putting him in sole possession of the NCAA all-division career record (97) and the LSU single-season record (29) for field goals made.
LSU won the toss and elected to receive for the first time the season. 
The Tigers didn’t wait for the first offensive drive to come out strong. Sophomore running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned the opening kick 77 yards down to the LSU 16-yard line. 
Senior running back Nick Brossette immediately came out with an 11-yard run, but that’s where LSU’s drive stalled. A false start penalty on offensive lineman Saahdiq Charles and a sack on Burrow left the Tigers to attempt a field goal. 
Tracy drilled a 24-yard field goal for LSU to take a 3-0 lead with 12:38 left in the first quarter. 
UCF took no time to combat LSU’s scoring drive with one of its own. It only took six plays and 1:38 off the clock for the Knights to score, capping it off with a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Greg McCrae. 
LSU was marching down the field and was in the red zone after driving 60 yards downfield. What looked like for sure LSU points flipped quickly as Burrow missed receiver Derrick Dillon and UCF defensive back Brandon Moore intercepted it for a touchdown.
Burrow took a hard hit as he attempted to make a tackle on the return and had to be looked at by LSU trainers. 
The Knights took a 14-3 lead with 6:39 left in the first quarter. 
As LSU started its next drive, it struggled to get the run game going. Brossette only had 10 carries for 30 yards at the end of the first quarter. 
Burrow showed no signs of head injury as he opened the drive with a 15-yard completion to junior receiver Stephan Sullivan and ran for 11 yards of his own. 
A UCF unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a third down sack kept LSU’s drive alive. The Tigers capped it off with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to sophomore receiver Justin Jefferson to cut UCF’s lead to 14-10. 
LSU seemed to continue turning the tide. After UCF went four plays for 23 yards, junior linebacker Devin White forced a fumble on UCF quarterback Darriel Mack and junior linebacker Michael Divnity recovered it. 
Despite LSU’s good fortune, senior cornerback Terrance Alexander was disqualified from the game for throwing a punch as a UCF player blocking him.
Burrow continued to show toughness and he started the drive with a 10-yard run. Two plays later, he hit Derrick Dillon up the middle. Dillon broke a tackle on the sideline and kept going for a 49-yard touchdown. LSU took a 17-14 lead as time ran out in the first quarter. 
Despite the losses in the secondary, the LSU defense forced a three and out on the UCF the following drive. 
Burrow started the next LSU drive by completing to Sullivan again for a big gain of 19 yards. Burrow then hit Chase and Edwards-Helaire for nine and eight yards respectively. 
After a holding penalty on Charles seemed to stall the drive, Burrow completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, who was wide open in the end zone. LSU took a 24-10 lead with 7:11 left in the first half.
The LSU defense settled in in the second quarter, totaling five sacks and nine tackles for loss. They seemed to be in a groove until sophomore All-American safety Grant Delpit was ejected for targeting halfway through the quarter. 
Neither team score for the remainder of the first half until UCF quarterback D.J. Mack hit Gabriel Davis for a 32-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone with four seconds left. UCF cut the lead down to 24-21 at the end of the first half. 
UCF got the ball to start the second half, but went three and out on its first three possessions. The LSU defense did not allow a first down in the third quarter. 
LSU, on the other hand, only needed four plays to get back on the board as it seemed to finally get the ground game going. After a 1-yard run by Brossette. Burrow hit senior tight end Foster Moreau for a 16-yard gain. 
Brossette then rushed for 24 yards to bring the Tigers down to the UCF 32-yard line. LSU capped off the drive as Burrow connected with freshman receiver Ja’Marr Chase for a 32-yard touchdown to extend the Tigers’ lead to 31-21. 
On UCF’s third punt of the second half, Jefferson, back as the punt returner with Jonathon Giles out, muffed the punt and left the Knights in prime position at the LSU 20. 
The LSU defense stepped up once again, not allowing a first down and limited UCF to a field goal to hold onto a 34-24 lead. 
The Tigers started the following drive with a bang after Burrow hit Derrick Dillon against, this time for 37 yards after multiple broken tackles. Edwards-Helaire then ran for 19 yards and Burrow hit Chase for 10 yards down to the UCF 13-yard line
But once again, LSU was unable to do anything in the red zone after Burrow fumbled a snap. Jefferson could not hold onto Burrow’s touchdown pass and LSU was forced to bring out Tracy again. The Tigers maintained a 37-24 lead with 12:09 left in the game. 
The defense continued to play as UCF was forced to punt once again. 
With 11:24 left in the game and a 13-point lead, LSU took the next drive to attempt to run out the clock and maintain that lead. 
After four straight runs for 31 total yards, Burrow went downfield on third and seven to hit Sullivan for 42 yards. LSU one again struggled in the red zone and brought out Tracy to kick a 46-yard and extend the Tigers’ lead to 40-24.
Face mask and unsportsmanlike conducts penalties on linebacker Jacob Phillips gave UCF 30 penalty yards to start its next drive. The Knights then drove 45 yards downfield and capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run by Taj McGowan to cut LSU’s lead to 40-32 with 2:24 left in the game. 
UCF tried to onside kick, but Moreau recovered and held onto the ball. LSU went three and out on its final drive and was forced punt with 39 seconds left. 
With UCF trying to tie the game, LSU safety JaCoby Stevens intercepted Mack to clinch the game for the Tigers. 
This is be the first time that LSU will finish the season higher than they started since 2011.