The 1998 Alamo Bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats and the Purdue Boilermakers. The Wildcats came into the game fresh off a double overtime loss in the Big 12 Championship Game to the Texas A&M Aggies, which ruined their chance at a national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. With an experienced quarterback, Michael Bishop, the Heisman Trophy 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 win was selected as the second best win for Purdue during the Joe Tiller era by Purdue blog Off the Tracks.