The 1998 Alamo Bowl

Alamo Bowl

The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...

featured the Kansas State Wildcats

1998 Kansas State Wildcats football team

The 1998 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the college football season of 1998. The team's head football coach was Bill Snyder. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. 1998 saw the Wildcats finish with a record of 11-2, and a 8-0 record in...

 and the Purdue Boilermakers

1998 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1998 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana and were members of the Big Ten Conference.-Schedule:...

.

The Wildcats came into the game fresh off a double overtime loss in the Big 12 Championship Game to the Texas A&M Aggies

1998 Texas A&M Aggies football team

The 1998 Texas A&M Aggies football team completed the season with a 11-3 record. The Aggies had a regular season Big 12 record of 7-1.-Schedule:-Florida State:-Louisiana Tech:-Southern Miss:-North Texas:-Kansas:...

, which ruined their chance at a national championship in the Fiesta Bowl

1999 Fiesta Bowl

The 1999 Fiesta Bowl, the designated BCS National Championship Game for the 1998 season, was played on January 4, 1999, in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium. The teams were the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida State Seminoles...

. With an experienced quarterback, Michael Bishop

Michael Bishop (football player)

Michael Paul Bishop is a professional football quarterback who is currently on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Practice Squad. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots....

, the Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

 runner-up, and one of the best offenses and defenses in the country, the Wildcats were generally expected to have an easy bowl victory.

The Wildcats finished with a #3 ranking in the BCS

Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

 and thought they deserved to play in one of the BCS Bowl games. Kansas State was unable to overcome the unranked Purdue Boilermakers, who drove 80 yards for a touchdown in the final minute to shock Kansas State 37-34.

After this season, the "Kansas State Rule" was created, making the #3 spot an automatic bid. Kansas State would finish ranked #6 in the BCS the following season

1999 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State named national champions, defeating Virginia Tech in the BCS Sugar Bowl.Florida State became the first team in history to start out preseason #1 and remain there through the entire season. Their 12-0 season gave them 109 victories in the...

, only to be left out of the BCS once again.

The win was selected as the second best win for Purdue during the Joe Tiller Era by noted Purdue blog Off the Tracks.

Scoring summary

Second Quarter

PU- Daniels 5 pass from Brees

Drew Brees

Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....

 (Dorsch

Travis Dorsch

Travis Dorsch is a PhD student in sport psychology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Dorsch is a former American football placekicker and punter of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...

 kick)

PU- FG Dorsch 25

KSU- Mcdonald 1 pass from Bishop

Michael Bishop (football player)

Michael Paul Bishop is a professional football quarterback who is currently on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Practice Squad. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots....

 (Gramatica

Martin Gramatica

Martín Gramática is an Argentine-American former football placekicker.Gramática was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft after playing college football at Kansas State, and has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Dallas...

 kick)

PU- Jones 30 pass from Brees (Dorsch kick)

Third Quarter

KSU- Havick recovered fumble in end zone (kick failed)

PU- Nugent recovered fumble in end zone (Dorsch kick)

PU- FG Dorsch 26

Fourth Quarter

KSU- Allen 3 run (Gramatica kick)

PU- FG Dorsch 37

KSU- Mcdonald 88 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)

KSU- Swift 2 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)

PU- Jones 24 pass from Brees (Dorsch kick)

Stats

Rushing
KSU- Allen 13-83, Hickson 7-35, Bishop 20-7
PU- Crabtree 12-46, Brees 10-25

Passing
KSU- Bishop 9-24—182
PU- Brees 25-53—230

Receiving
KSU- Mcdonald 5-124, Peries 1-52
PU- Jones 11-98, Daniels 6-47, Sutherland 3-53, Lane 3-25