By Matt Schulz
FANSonly.com

SAN ANTONIO - Russell Bynum's 55-yard field goal cleared the crossbar by the slimmest of margins, but that was enough to push Texas A&M to a hard-fought 13-10 Alamo Bowl win over Nebraska.

Bynum, who had missed badly from 41 yards away earlier, kicked the Aggies into a second-round rematch with Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. K-State won handily over Ga. Tech in the Alamo Bowl.

It looked for most of the game as if heroics wouldn't be necessary for the Aggies to advance in the Virtual Championship Series. A&M's Wrecking Crew was dominating the Husker offense, and the Aggies had a 10-3 lead, thanks to a first-drive 73-yard touchdown bomb from Branndon Stewart to Matt Bumgardner.

But Nebraska's defense held firm after that long strike and kept the Huskers in the game through three quarters even as the offense sputtered. Finally, midway through the fourth quarter, Nebraska's special teams made some offense of their own.

Linebacker Tony Ortiz came around the end and got a hand on Aggie Shane Lechler's punt. The ball then took a strange hop, landing in Ortiz's arms. Just like that, the game was tied.

The ensuing kickoff pinned the Aggies on their 4-yard line, but Stewart, playing in place of injured starter Randy McCown, wasn't rattled. He mixed handoffs to Dante Hall in with short passes to receivers Chris Cole and Leroy Hodge to move A&M into Nebraska territory.

However, the drive stalled on an incomplete pass to Derrick Spiller and the Aggies were forced to kick the 55-yard field goal. It proved to be the game winner, though it appeared to clear the crossbar by only a precious few inches.

The Huskers would get the ball two more times but were never able to mount a threat against the Aggies' vaunted Wrecking Crew defense.