MANHATTAN, Kan. _ Kansas State fans can begin making travel plans to Houston.
The Wildcats are headed to the Texas Bowl, where they face former Big 12 rival Texas A&M.
K-State accepted a formal invitation Sunday. Kickoff is 8 p.m. on Dec. 28 at NRG Stadium on ESPN.
"We are honored to be at this bowl game," K-State coach Bill Snyder said Sunday evening. "Kansas State has played there one previous time. My understanding was it had wonderful people and we always enjoy these opportunities. Texas A&M is an extremely talented football team. I don't know a great deal about them at this particular point in time, other than that I have great respect for Kevin Sumlin."
This will be the Wildcats' seventh straight postseason appearance.
The Texas Bowl is their reward for an 8-4 season and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12. The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the league's preseason poll and started 3-3, but they rallied late and won five of their final six games.
Texas A&M, a former Big 12 rival, also enters bowl season with an 8-4 record. But its season unfolded much differently. The Aggies won their first six games and were ranked in the top 10, but they lost four of their final six games. Their only victories down the stretch came against nonconference opponents New Mexico State and Texas-San Antonio at home.
"We have a lot to play for," Sumlin, A&M's coach, said. "This bowl is a reward for our players, and they want to finish the season the right way."
Sumlin is also looking forward to facing off with Snyder.
"You're coaching against a legend," Sumlin said. "For me, it's an honor as a coach to be on the same field."
K-State won its last meeting against Texas A&M in 2011 in dramatic fashion, beating the Aggies 53-50 in quadruple overtime. A&M leads the series 8-7.
But Snyder glossed over much of that history and referred to a Texas A&M victory over K-State in the 1998 Big 12 championship game, perhaps the most painful loss in Wildcats history, as the last meeting between the two teams.
"That was a hard loss," Snyder said. "We had the opportunity to go to the national championship game had we won that one, and they came back and beat us late."
The bowl matchup gives Snyder a shot at revenge and K-State a shot at a unique opportunity to beat the best football teams in the Lone Star State. The Wildcats defeated Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech and TCU in the regular season and can improve their record against Lone Star teams to 5-0 with another victory. No team has defeated that combination of Texas football teams in the same season since Arkansas won the old Southwest Conference in 1988.
K-State is making its second appearance in the Texas Bowl and first since 2006. The Wildcats played in the inaugural Texas Bowl 10 years ago under then-coach Ron Prince and brought a strong crowd with them for a game against Rutgers. But Rutgers won 37-10 in front of 52,000. It remains the worst bowl loss in K-State history.
Snyder, who was retired at the time, attended that game with his family as a fan. He said he didn't remember anything significant from the trip.
He will make some new memories if K-State continues to play the way it did Saturday, beating TCU on the road 30-6 behind a rushing attack that produced a pair of 100-yard runners and a defense that held the Horned Frogs without a touchdown for the first time since 2006.
It will carry plenty of momentum into the postseason. Perhaps enough to win its first bowl game since 2013.
"Last year we ended on a little, three-game win streak but this is better," K-State linebacker Elijah Lee said. "Going on this win streak helps you carry something extra with you."
