From the moment the bowl matchups were released, there was talk that LSU held more pressure than other SEC programs because of its pending meeting with Central Florida.

Given UCF’s ongoing argument to be included in the College Football Playoff and other major bowl games, it has also held a simultaneous beef with the SEC. Now the Tigers are being counted on by the rest of the SEC to squash the Knights, and end those arguments.

ESPN and SEC Network host Paul Finebaum, on his regular weekly appearance on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM program “The Roundtable, said he sees LSU and coach Ed Orgeron having a lot of pressure in the Fiesta Bowl.

“That would be a bitter loss to have to suffer,” Finebaum said. “On top of that, think about it would be two losses to end the season, losing that ridiculous seven-overtime game to A&M. It would remind me a little bit of what happened a year ago with Gus Malzahn. He had a good season going and he literally threw it all away at the end with the loss to Georgia, not so much then, but the UCF loss. There are a lot of similarities. Because of that, Ed Oregon has to be careful. Instead of a 10-win season, he’ll have a four-loss season, and you know how people in Baton Rouge will react to that.”

A counterpoint to Finebaum’s opinion could be related to preseason expectations for LSU. Many people had Orgeron near the top of most hot seat lists, or among the first coaches to be fired in 2018. The Tigers were widely pegged to win between five and seven games.

LSU will have LB Devin White in the game, but will be without its best cornerback, Greedy Williams, who chose to skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.