Recovered and refocused, the Scarlet Knights (10-2) say they have plenty of incentive to beat Kansas State (7-5) in today’s Texas Bowl – specifically, earning the first postseason victory in the program’s 137 mostly forgettable years.

“What happened is gone now,” said running back Ray Rice, the nation’s fourth-leading rusher. “We have this bowl game, and we’re trying to accomplish what our school has never accomplished. That’s big motivation.”

Their season has already been one to remember.

The Scarlet Knights, who went 1-11 in 2002, won their first nine games, including a 28-25 win over then-No. 3 Louisville. The nationally televised upset was Rutgers’ first over a top-five opponent and earned the school its first top-10 ranking.

The Knights lost to Cincinnati on Nov. 18, then beat Syracuse to reach 10 wins for the second time in the school history.

Rutgers needed to beat West Virginia on Dec. 2 to grab the Big East’s automatic berth in the BCS, but lost 41-39 in triple overtime.

While Rutgers is trying to establish a tradition, the Wildcats are trying to restore one.

Kansas State is making its 12th bowl appearance in the last 14 years, but its first since the 2003 season, when the Wildcats lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Kansas State went 9-13 over the next two seasons, and coach Bill Snyder retired. The school hired Ron Prince, a Junction City, Kan., native and Virginia’s former offensive coordinator to replace Snyder.

The Wildcats lost four of five in the middle of this season, then won three in a row, including a 45-42 upset of Texas.

While Prince acknowledges reaching a bowl game was a goal, he said his first season fell short of what he envisioned.

“Expectations? No, we didn’t exceed them at all,” Prince said. “We had a nice season to this point, we did some nice things. I’m very pleased with how the players have been very diligent.”