COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher talks plenty about the importance of recruiting Houston. Now he’ll coach a bowl in the largest city in Southeastern Conference country.
A&M (7-5) will face No. 25 Oklahoma State (8-4) in the Academy Texas Bowl on Dec. 27. Kickoff is 5:45 p.m. at NRG Stadium.
“There’s a huge Aggie fan base, a lot of our players are from down there, and we’re recruiting constantly in that area,” Fisher said Sunday night following bowl announcements. “It’s going to be big for us, and we’re going to need to play well and do well. Houston is one of the biggest cities in the country, and everybody in the world comes in to recruit there.
“We need to make sure we get our share of guys out of there. That’s for sure.”
The Aggies will make their third appearance in the Texas Bowl in the last nine seasons, following a victory over Northwestern in 2011 and a loss to Kansas State in 2016.
About the game
When/where: 5:45 p.m., Dec. 27; NRG Stadium.
TV: ESPN.
Records: Texas A&M 7-5; Oklahoma State 8-4.
A&M update: Aggies and Cowboys will meet for the 28th time, with A&M holding a 17-10 advantage. … Old Big 12 foes haven’t played since 2011, with A&M leaving the Big 12 for the SEC in the summer of 2012. … Aggies won their first bowl game under coach Jimbo Fisher a year ago, 52-13 over North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl. They snapped a three-game losing streak in the postseason under former coach Kevin Sumlin. … This marks A&M’s third Texas Bowl appearance in nine seasons, with a win over Northwestern in 2011 and a loss to Kansas State in 2016. Fisher has never coached in NRG Stadium.
OSU update: Cowboys will take part in their 14th consecutive bowl, ninth longest streak in the FBS. Mike Gundy has coached every one. … Cowboys sophomore RB Chuba Hubbard leads the nation with 1,936 rushing yards. … OSU won its final four meetings with the Aggies (from 2008-2011, all under-then A&M coach Mike Sherman) before A&M bolted the Big 12. … Aggies and Cowboys have played in the postseason once prior, a 33-16 A&M win in the 1981 Independence Bowl. … OSU ranks 86th nationally in total defense, allowing 418 yards per game, and 113th in pass defense, allowing 267.
Brent Zwerneman
“Any time we can have Texas A&M play here at NRG Stadium and give access to local fans here, it’s remarkable,” Texans president Jamey Rootes said. “Everything A&M does is rich with tradition, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Fisher, who was Florida State’s head coach from 2010-17, has never coached in the home of the Texans.
“It’s a great venue, and I’ve seen some high school games there,” Fisher said. “It’s got a great atmosphere and a great environment.”
The Aggies lead the all-time series with the Cowboys 17-10. The programs haven’t played since 2011, before the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC in the summer of 2012. Fisher is in his second season at A&M, and Mike Gundy is in his 15th season with the Cowboys.
Gundy said Sunday night he knows three of the Aggies losses came against Associated Press No. 1 teams (Clemson, Alabama and LSU). Their other two setbacks were to Georgia (which finished No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings) and Auburn (No. 12). A&M is the first team to face three AP No. 1 teams in a single season.
“They are the best 7-5 team in the history of the NCAA in my opinion,” Gundy said. “They are definitely a top 20 team.”
On HoustonChronicle.com: Jimbo Fisher says Texas A&M won’t be deterred by 50-7 loss to LSU
The Aggies defense also will take on the nation’s leading running back in sophomore Chuba Hubbard, who rushed for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns in a dozen games this season.
“He’s a complete back,” Fisher said. “He will be a huge challenge for our defense.”
Fisher and Gundy have met in a nonconference contest in Texas before. Fisher’s Florida State squad, fresh off a national title from the 2013 season, defeated OSU 37-31 in the 2014 season opener in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys entered the game as 19-point underdogs but made it a game thanks to quarterback J.W. Walsh and do-everything running back and returner Tyreek Hill.
“It was a shootout, just a heck of a game,” Fisher recalled. “It came down to the last possession.”
OSU also owns a little Houston bowl history. The Cowboys, then led by Les Miles, played in the first bowl in the home of the Texans in 2002, defeating Southern Miss in what was then called Reliant Stadium. A year earlier, the Aggies defeated TCU in the final bowl in the Astrodome, at the time called the galleryfurniture.com Bowl.
This season, the Aggies are coming off a 50-7 defeat at No. 1 LSU. The Cowboys are coming off a 34-16 home loss to No. 4 Oklahoma.
“They’re a great football team, and they had a great year,” Fisher said of OSU. “Hubbard can run the football, but they’re also playing great defense.”
Fisher said Sunday he expects each of his few seniors — none project as high NFL draft selections — to play in the bowl, along with any juniors who might be considering declaring for the draft.
Fisher also believes his players are ready to erase some of the stink of a 43-point loss to LSU in Baton Rouge, La., and start looking toward 2020.
“We better be (ready),” Fisher said. “Because it’s going to be a heck of a challenge.”
brent.zwerneman@chron.com
twitter.com/brentzwerneman
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