If you like points, the 2014 Fiesta Bowl may be your favorite bowl game of the year.
2014 Fiesta Bowl: Streaming, TV schedule, preview for UCF vs. Baylor
Get ready for a lot of points in Glendale when two of the nation’s top quarterbacks square off. (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.)
The Baylor Bears finished the regular season as the nation's leader in scoring at just over 53 points a game, while UCF features one of the top quarterback-running back duos in the country. With a field inside University of Phoenix Stadium that tends to play pretty fast, it's tough to imagine the defenses making too many stops on New Year's night.
Here’s all you need to know to watch the game.
Must Reads
Must Reads
The numbers
Rankings and records: Baylor comes in with a 12-1 record and ranked sixth in the polls. Champions of the Big 12, the Bears’ lone loss was to Oklahoma State. UCF, champion of the AAC, is also 12-1. The Knights’ only loss was to South Carolina by three points in September.
Vegas: Baylor opened as a 16.5-point favorite. The over/under is set at 68 points.
Weather: Mostly clear with a high of 71 and a low of 47.
Bowl facts
Location: Glendale, Ariz.
Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium (78,600)
Tickets: Find available seats here.
Last year’s score: Oregon 35, Kansas State 17
Last year’s attendance: 70,242
Last year’s TV rating: 7.4
Last year’s payout for each school: $17 million
Team with the most all-time appearances: Penn State, Arizona State, Ohio State, Nebraska (6)
Team with the most all-time wins: Penn State (6)
Three names to know
Bryce Petty: Petty might have had the best numbers of any quarterback in the nation this season, even if he didn't receive the national attention he deserved. He threw for 3,844 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2013, and he added on 192 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Perhaps the most impressive stat: 356 pass attempts, two interceptions.
BCS Eulogy
College football's money-printing postseason will soon have a new name and a new format. But let's pretend the last official week of the Bowl Championship Series is also the birth of something new. Antwan Goodley: Petty does a nice job spreading the ball to all of his receivers, but Goodley is (by far) his favorite target. He led the team with 1,319 yards and 13 touchdowns on 67 receptions. He averages just about 20 yards per catch, and he has the speed to burn defenses if he gets a step on the secondary.
Blake Bortles: The guy who may be the first quarterback drafted in this year's NFL Draft, Bortles can make all of the throws and has a knack for making crazy things happen on the football field. He threw for 3,280 yards, 22 touchdowns and turned the ball over just eight times.
Two things at stake
Baylor was in the national championship hunt a couple of months ago. While the Bears fell short of that lofty goal, a win would just about guarantee this season as the best in school history.
This is probably the biggest game UCF has ever played, and while this season will be viewed as a major success win or lose, a BCS victory would put an awfully sweet cherry on top of a pretty great year.
How to witness
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Radio: Baylor affiliates | UCF affiliates
Online streaming: WatchESPN; Xfinity subscribers can watch the game here.
Further reading
For more on the game, be sure to check out Our Daily Bears.
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