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ALAMO BOWL 07
Texas A&M vs Penn State

The Alamo Bowl is the NCAA postseason bowl game that matches up the Big XII Conference's and the Big 10 Conference's number four teams against each other. The game is has been held in San Antonio, Texas within the friendly confines of the Alamodome every year since its inaugural game in 1993 and has been growing exponentially each year since then. The game yields around a $1.5 million payout to each one of the schools that play in the game.

The Alamo Bowl's inaugural game featured the Cal Golden Bears as they went up against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game was a total blowout as the Golden Bears mauled the Hawkeyes by a score of 37-3. Since then the game has gotten bigger and bigger each year. The highest rated game of the Alamo Bowl's short legacy came in its third year when the game featured two Top 25 ranked teams in the Texas A&M Aggies, who were #19, and the Michigan Wolverines, who were ranked #14 coming into the game. It was a game that was dominated by field goals. Aggie kicker Kyle Bryant kicked an Alamo Bowl record five field goals as the Aggies went on to pull off the upset of the mighty Michigan Wolverines 22-20.

The first time the Alamo Bowl hosted a team that was ranked in the Top 10 came during the 1998 season. It was the first year that the Bowl Championship Series came into play and the Kansas State Wildcats lost to Texas A&M in the Big XII Championship. The BCS didn't choose the previously undefeated Wildcats into any of their BCS bowls and the Wildcats went into San Antonio with complaints instead of a chip on their shoulder. They matched up with the Boilermakers of Purdue and it is hands down the best game to ever be played at the Alamo Bowl. The Wildcats found themselves down 30-20 with only 6:22 left in the game and were sparked by the Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Bishop and scored two straight touchdowns, the last coming with only 1:54 left in the game. That's when the Boilermakers, led by San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees, pushed their way down the field and scored while the clock ticked away. In addition to being the best Alamo Bowl game ever it was also the best bowl game that year.

This year's Alamo Bowl will feature two storied programs. The Big Ten representative will be the Iowa Hawkeyes. Entering the season, the Hawkeyes had national championship aspirations, but they never lived up to those. The Iowa signal caller and preseason Heisman hopeful suffered through a slew of injuries and was one of the reasons they had trouble putting the points on the board they had in the last few seasons. The Big XII representitive find themselves in the same basic position. The defending national champion Texas Longhorns were looking at their second straight national championship appearance until they went up to face Kansas State. Their redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy injured his shoulder, the Longhorns lost the game and their hopes at a second national title. The next game a shaken up McCoy led the Longhorns to their second straight loss, this time to their hated rival, the Texas A&M Aggies. With all the talent on these two teams this year's Alamo Bowl will be one of the best we have ever seen. The buzz around the game has been incredible. So much so, that tickets sold out two days after the two teams were officially named.

Last year's Alamo Bowl had one of the best finishes the bowl world has ever seen last year. The Nebraska Cornhuskers overcame a nine point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Michigan Wolverines 32-28. The reason this was such a memorable game was the final play. Michagan quarterback Chad Henne completed a pass and then watched his team lateral the ball seven times before they were finally brought down. The Wolverines had one last man to beat, Titus Brothers, on the play, but they couldn't get around him. The game was also the highest rated bowl game to have ever been aired by ESPN. Visit the Official Alamo Bowl Website here.