PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The UCF Knights, who enter the postseason unbeaten for the second straight year, and as the winners of their second straight American Athletic Conference Championship, were chosen by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee to face LSU on New Year’s Day in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
UCF’s selection to a New Year’s Six bowl highlights a group of seven American Athletic Conference schools that will play in bowl games.
UCF’s appearance in the Fiesta Bowl marks the Knights’ third appearance in the top New Year’s bowls since 2013 and the American Athletic Conference’s fourth New Year’s bowl bid since the formation of the conference. Teams from The American are 3-0 in previous New Year’s Bowls. UCF was a 52-42 winner against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to cap the 2013 season, while Houston defeated Florida State 38-24 in the 2015 Peach Bowl before UCF took a 34-27 win against Auburn in last year’s Peach Bowl.
UCF (12-0) was ranked No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season, the highest final ranking for an American Athletic Conference team in the five-year history of the CFP. The Knights are ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches’ polls and will face an LSU team that is 9-3 and ranked No. 11 across the board. It will be the first meeting between the schools.
Memphis (8-5), which won The American’s West Division title and fell to UCF in the American Athletic Conference Championship Saturday, will play in the Birmingham Bowl against Wake Forest (6-6). Memphis is making its 11th bowl appearance and its second trip to the Birmingham Bowl.
Cincinnati. which turned in a 10-2 regular season, will find a familiar opponent in its bowl destination as the Bearcats face Virginia Tech (6-6) in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will be a rematch of the 2014 Military Bowl and will pair the Bearcats and Hokies in a bowl for the fourth time. It will be the 18th bowl appearance for Cincinnati as the Bearcats return to the postseason for the first time since 2015.
Temple will make its fourth straight appearance in a bowl game as the Owls (8-4) face Duke (7-5) in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Owls will play in the Independence Bowl for the first time and will face a first-time opponent with the matchup against Duke (7-5).
Houston (8-4) will make its sixth straight bowl appearance and their 12th in 14 seasons when the Cougars face Army (9-2) in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be the eighth meeting between Houston and Army, the first in a bowl game, as Houston makes its 27th bowl apperance.
USF (7-5) has won five of its last six bowl games and will enjoy the comforts of its home stadium for its 2018 matchup as the Bulls face Marshall (8-4) in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. USF will make its second appearance in the bowl and its first since a win against Memphis in the 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl.
Tulane will begin The American’s bowl season as the Green Wave (6-6) takes on Louisiana (7-6) in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Green Wave will make its first bowl appearance since 2013, when Tulane faced the Ragin Cajuns in the New Orleans Bowl.
2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BOWL SCHEDULE
AutoNation Cure Bowl - Dec. 15
Camping World Stadium | Orlando, Florida
Tulane (6-6) vs. Louisiana (7-6), 1:30 p.m.
Television: CBS Sports Network
Series: Tulane leads, 22-6
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2016 (Tulane, 41-39 ot)
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl - Dec. 20
Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, Florida
USF (7-5) vs. Marshall (8-4), 8 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Birmingham Bowl - Dec. 22
Legion Field – Birmingham, Ala.
Memphis (8-5) vs. Wake Forest (6-6), Noon
Television: ESPN
Series: Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 1967 (Memphis, 42-10)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl – Dec. 22
Amon G. Carter Stadium – Fort Worth, Texas
Houston (8-4) vs. Army (9-2), 3:30 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: Houston leads, 5-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2004 (Houston, 35-21)
Walk-On’s Independence Bowl – Dec. 27
Independence Stadium – Shreveport, La.
Temple (8-4) vs. Duke (7-5), 1:30 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman – Dec. 31
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Annapolis, Md.
Cincinnati (10-2) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6) , Noon
Television: ESPN
Series: Virginia Tech leads, 6-5
Last Meeting: Dec. 27, 2014 (Virginia Tech, 33-17)
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – Jan. 1
State Farm Stadium – Glendale, Ariz., 1 p.m.
UCF (12-0) vs. LSU (9-3)
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting