1998 Big 12 Championship Game

The 1998 Big 12 Championship Game was played on December 5, 1998, at the

The game remains infamous among K-State fans, as the Wildcats' loss prevented them from being invited to what would have been the program's first-ever National Championship game.

The Wildcats were coached by Bill Snyder. They came into the game with an 11–0 record, including an 8–0 record in Big 12 play. The Aggies, coached by R. C. Slocum, went into the game with a 10–2 record including a 7–1 mark in conference play.

Leading up to the game

Texas A&M was coming off of a loss in the previous week to their bitter rival, the Texas Longhorns, 26–24. The loss did not stop the Aggies from winning the South Division, and set them up with a match-up with the North Division Champion, Kansas State.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, had bigger implications for their season on the line. Although the Coaches Poll had Kansas State at #1 and the Associated Press poll had them at #2, the Bowl Championship Series poll entering the Big 12 Championship Game had them situated at #3, trailing Tennessee and UCLA. Earlier that day, however, UCLA lost to unranked Miami at the Orange Bowl; this meant that, provided that Kansas State won the game, the Wildcats would guarantee themselves a spot in the first BCS national championship game at the Fiesta Bowl.

Game summary

Ranked no. 10 nationally, Texas A&M rebounded from a 27–12 fourth-quarter deficit to edge top-ranked Kansas State 36–33 in double overtime.

Running back Sirr Parker scored 14 points on a pair of touchdown catches and a two-point conversion, rallying the Aggies to a 24-point surge in the final 9:20 of regulation and the extra periods.

Parker's unlikely 32-yard reception for the winning TD on a 3rd-and-17 situation for Texas A&M in the final overtime capped an evening of surprising developments for both teams. The final six-pointer also gave the Aggies their first football win in history over a team ranked first nationally at the time of the contest.

Texas A&M had trouble finding the end zone in the first half against the Wildcats’ defense, as KSU built a 17–6 halftime advantage. A pair of Russell Bynum field goals helped offset a brilliant passing performance by KSU quarterback Michael Bishop, who was 8-of-8 passing for 159 yards and a pair of TDs in the opening 30 minutes. Tight end Justin Swift was a favorite target as he made three catches for 47 yards and one score.

Linebacker Dat Nguyen led the Aggie defense with an interception to go along with a championship-most 17 total tackles. The pilfer led to a 57-yard Aggies’ scoring drive, capped by a two-yard scoring plunge by A&M freshman fullback Ja’Mar Toombs.

Quarterback Branndon Stewart reeled off 245 passing yards on 11-of-20 aerial work and two touchdowns in the final quarter and two overtime periods, as the Aggies mounted the greatest comeback in the brief history of the Big 12 Championship.

The two teams traded field goals in the first overtime session, with Bynum hitting from 18 yards and Gramatica connected from 22 yards.

In the second overtime, KSU drove to the eight-yard line on four rushing plays of 17 yards. The Wildcats put one more field goal on the board for a 33–30 lead. Texas A&M then converted as Parker caught the pass from Stewart and eluded one tackler before lunging over the pylon in the right corner for the winning score.

Scoring summary

First Quarter
KSU (0–3) – Martin Gramatica 47-yard field goal; 6:31
KSU (0–10) – Justin Swift 15-yard pass from Michael Bishop, (Gramatica kick); 2:02

Second Quarter
A&M (3–10) – Russell Bynum 25-yard field goal; 11:00
KSU (3–17) – Darnell McDonald 66-yard pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick); 10:37
A&M (6–17) – Bynum 26-yard field goal; 4:16

Third Quarter
A&M (12–17) – Ja’Mar Toombs 2-yard run (Pass failed); 8:42
KSU (12–20) – Gramatica 45-yard field goal; 4:31
KSU (12–27) – Bishop 5-yard run (Gramatica kick); 0:40

Fourth Quarter
A&M (19–27) – Leroy Hodge 13-yard pass from Branndon Stewart (Bynum kick); 9:20
A&M (27–27) – Sirr Parker 9-yard pass from Stewart (Parker pass from Stewart); 1:05

First Overtime
A&M (30–27) – Bynum 18-yard field goal
KSU (30–30) – Gramatica 22-yard field goal

Second Overtime
KSU (30–33) – Gramatica 25-yard field goal
A&M (36–33) – Parker 32-yard pass from Stewart

Game notes

• This was the first Big 12 Championship game to go to overtime

After the game

Texas A&M received a berth in the 1999 Sugar Bowl, where they would face and lose to Ohio State, 24-14. Their win in St. Louis was their first and only Big 12 football championship prior to the Aggies’ departure for the SEC, and was their eighteenth conference championship overall.

Kansas State, meanwhile, was left out of the BCS when the bowl selections were made despite finishing third in its poll. The Wildcats were also spurned by the organizers of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which had second choice of Big 12 teams and instead selected Texas, and the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, which had third choice of Big 12 teams but instead selected Nebraska. The bowl with the next choice of Big 12 teams, the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, selected Kansas State to face Purdue from the Big Ten; the Wildcats also lost that game to finish with two losses, finishing ninth and tenth in the final major polls.

See also

• List of historically significant college football games

References