UC Davis Aggies

Old Big 12 foes rekindle rivalry at Texas Bowl (Dec 28, 2016)

Published Dec. 24, 2016 9:19 p.m. ET

Texas A&M sputtered to the finish of the regular season for the third consecutive season but will try to end on a high note against an old Big 12 foe in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl.

The Aggies, who went 1-3 in November to fall to 8-4 overall, will meet Kansas State, which won five of its final six games to arrive at the same record. The matchup, which will kick off at 9 p.m. at NRG Stadium in Houston on Wednesday, will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2011, after which A&M left for the SEC.

"I would suggest we're probably one of the top two teams in the conference in regards to how well we finished the season," said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, "and maybe one of the top teams in the country in regards to how we finished the season."

Injuries played a role in another Texas A&M late-season slump -- the program is 6-8 after October in the past three years -- but quarterback Trevor Knight returned from missing two games because of a shoulder injury to play in the regular-season finale against LSU.

Knight, a graduate transfer playing his final college game, faced Kansas State three times while he was at Oklahoma.

"Coach Snyder does an incredible job of preparing and getting his guys ready to play," Knight said.

"They are a disciplined group that doesn't really make a lot of mistakes. They are going to have guys all over the field who make big plays. They are not going to necessarily try to beat you; they are going to try to make you beat them."

Knight has completed 163 of 314 passes for 2,122 yards, with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. His running skills -- 594 yards and 10 touchdowns -- will be key as a complement against a Kansas State defense that ranks 11th nationally against the run (112.6 yards per game).

Running back Trayveon Williams leads A&M in rushing with 1,024 yards, and Keith Ford has rushed for 583.

Kansas State defensive end Jordan Willis (a Big 12-best 11 sacks) and linebacker Elijah Lee, who both earned first-team all-conference honors, lead the Wildcats' front seven.

Knight has top targets in Christian Kirk (77 receptions, 842 yards, nine touchdowns) and Josh Reynolds (49 receptions, 885 yards, 10 touchdowns), although the team's third-leading receiver Speedy Noil, was suspended last week following a charge of misdemeanor drug possession.

Kansas State has been susceptible to the deep ball, allowing 13 receptions of 40-plus yards.

Playing under a roof could favor A&M's passing game and play-making receivers.

The Wildcats' offense usually moves at a more methodical pace, using the run game to strategically set up intermediate passing routes. They ranked first in the Big 12 with a possession time exceeding 32 minutes per game, while executing the fewest plays of any team in the league.

Quarterback Jesse Ertz posted three 100-yard rushing games this season. He leads the team with 945 rushing yards, ahead of a stable of backs, including Charles Jones and Justin Silmon. K-State rushed for more than 330 yards in three of its last four games.

"Jesse has been doing it virtually all year, at least the last half or three-quarters of the year," Snyder said. "Jesse runs deceptively well and he's deceptively fast. You look at him and say he's lead-footed, but he's not. He has a good perception of how to run and make people miss."

Texas A&M junior defensive end Myles Garrett -- projected by some to be to the top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft -- will play in the bowl, while other stars, such as LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, sit out to avoid potential injury and get ready for postseason workouts.

"I have to make sure I finish off this season strong," said Garrett, who has 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. "I'm not going to bring any extra attention to myself, and we'll all just focus in on one direction."

The Aggies will be playing just 100 miles away from campus in Houston, which is home to the school's largest alumni base and a fertile recruiting area.

"The opportunity to play in that venue, and in the fourth-largest city in America where you will recruit the vast majority of your players, is a big deal," said A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.

The last meeting between the teams as Big 12 members was a classic; 14th-ranked K-State earned a 53-50 home victory in four overtimes on Nov. 12, 2011.