The 2006

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...

, part of the 2006 college football season, was played on December 26, 2006 at

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The game featured the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

and the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as c ...

. Rutgers running back

Ray Rice Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Rutgers, where he received first-t ...

ran for 170 yards and a touchdown, Tim Brown caught two TD passes and the 16th-ranked Scarlet Knights won a bowl game for the first time in program history, beating Kansas State 37–10 in the Texas Bowl. Linebacker Quintero Frierson returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage of the second half and Rutgers (11–2) cruised from there, earning an 11th victory for the second time in 137 seasons. The Scarlet Knights' seventh-ranked defense manhandled Kansas State's offense, holding the Wildcats to 162 total yards and six first downs. Freshman quarterback

Josh Freeman Joshua Tyler Freeman (born January 13, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Kansas State University, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Freeman became th ...

was 10-for-21 for 129 yards with two interceptions. Kansas State (7–6) mustered only 85 yards after Frierson's return of Freeman's first interception put Rutgers up 24–10 just 33 seconds out of halftime. The Wildcats' only touchdown came on

Yamon Figurs Yamon Figurs (born January 10, 1983) is a former gridiron football wide receiver and return specialist. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State. Figurs was als ...

' 76-yard punt return with 9:37 left in the second quarter. Rice had a 24-yard run on Rutgers' next possession and Teel found Brown deep down the sideline for a 14–0 lead. Brown, a freshman from Miami, had only four catches and one touchdown reception coming into the game. Rutgers outscored its opponents 103–28 in the first quarter this season. On the first play of the second quarter, Freeman found

Jordy Nelson Jordy Ray Nelson (born May 31, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Kansas State, where he ...

on a crossing route for a 33-yard gain to set up Jeff Snodgrass' 44-yard field goal. Four minutes later, Figurs took Joe Radigan's punt up the middle, sidestepped Radigan and scored Kansas State's seventh special-teams touchdown of the season. Rice, the nation's fourth-leading rusher, had 74 yards rushing at halftime to move into third place on the school's career list. The Wildcats' offense had only one more yard at halftime (77) than Figurs gained on his punt return. Freeman was on the run when Frierson leaped to pick off his wobbly pass. Freeman's 14th interception of the season was his fifth in the Wildcats' last three games. Rice burst through the line and ran untouched through the defense for 46 yards and his 20th touchdown of the season to make it 31–10 with 11:41 left in the third quarter, and that was more than enough for Rutgers. The Wildcats' offense did nothing after that, failing to get a first down for the rest of the third quarter. Freshman Leon Patton, Kansas State's leading rusher, fumbled at the Wildcats' 22 near the end of the quarter, setting up the second of Jeremy Ito's three field goals. Teel finished 16 for 28 for 268 yards without an interception. Brown had four catches for 101 yards and

Clark Harris Clark Harris (born July 10, 1984) is an American football long snapper who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. Harris played for the Detro ...

made seven catches for 120. Kansas State was playing in a bowl for the 12th time in 14 seasons, but for the first time since the Fiesta Bowl following the 2003 season. The Wildcats dropped to 6–6 in those dozen. It was Kansas State's only bowl game with Ron Prince as head coach.

Statistics

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References

External links

Game summary
at

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