Kansas City Sports Bracketology: Top 64 Seasons, Round One, Part Two
By Mike Norris
Missouri Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban – Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
(7) 1998 Kansas State Football vs. (10) 2014 Missouri Football
As the years went by Kansas State football kept getting better and better. In 1998 the Wildcats were coming off five seasons with at least nine wins, but this was the first of three in a row where K-State won the Big 12 North Division title.
Quarterback Michael Bishop led the team to an 11-2 record, including wins in all eight conference games. However, the season ended in disappointment after a stunning 36-33, double-overtime loss to No. 8 Texas A&M in the school’s first conference title game.
The Wildcats led 27-12 heading in to the fourth quarter.
The loss ended a chance for the program’s first national title. While uninspired after being selected to play in the Alamo Bowl, the Wildcats loss to Purdue, 37-34, and finished 10th in the AP poll.
This past year was the second in a row that saw Missouri capture the SEC East Division championship.
In just three years the Tigers were proving they at least belonged in the nation’s toughest conference. Despite losing two of their first three conference games, including an awful home loss to Indiana, Missouri fought its way back to the SEC title game.
Mizzou held close to Alabama in the game but the Crimson Tide pulled away in the second half with a 42-13 win.
Quarterback Maty Mauk and the Tigers bounced back with a 33-17 victory against Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl.
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