By Matt Schulz
FANSonly.com

DALLAS -- K-State's defense made sure the Cotton Bowl wouldn't be a rerun of the Big 12 title game.

The third-seeded Wildcats shut down the Texas A&M offense, giving up just 109 total yards en route to an easy 32-8 win. In doing so, Kansas State exacted some revenge for the crushing overtime loss to the Aggies in the Big 12 Championship Game in St. Louis.

With the victory, K-State advances to next weekend's Virtual Championship Series semifinals where it will face Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. FSU nipped Arizona, 20-14, in the Gator Bowl.

Texas A&M, the VCS No. 6 seed, simply couldn't move the ball all day. The Aggies gained just 40 yards on 43 carries, threw for only 69 yards and garnered just 11 first downs. Meanwhile, K-State ran up 323 yards, including 215 by Michael Bishop through the air.

Still, at the half, K-State had just a 6-0 lead. A&M's Wrecking Crew defense had managed to keep the Wildcats out of the end zone and keep the Aggies in the game.

One big play by K-State's special teams changed all that.

David Allen scored K-State's first touchdown of the day on a 64-yard punt return. That put the Wildcats ahead 13-0. Then, the onslaught began. K-State would only be kept from scoring on two more drives as the return appeared to wake up the dormant Wildcat offense.

By the end of the third quarter, K-State had an insurmountable 22-0 lead. Texas A&M scored early in the third quarter, even adding a two-point conversion, but never seriously threatened the Wildcats after that.