Biggest choke in CFB history rated by degree of history that could have been made

Spinning off on the NFL topic, let's post similar moments for CFB.

My pick is Kansas State's improbable loss in the 1998 Big 12 Championship Game. I've seen mizzoubuckeyeiowa talk about how much of a letdown for most of the country this was, kinda like 59-year-old Tom Watson barely losing the 2009 British Open.

For context, Kansas State was once arguably the worst program in college football. When Bill Snyder took over after the 1988 season, the program had only been to one bowl game in its entire history (a loss in the 1982 Independence Bowl) and had a winning percentage of .300. There were talks of disbanding the program completely. Over the next decade, Snyder did the impossible and used the Kansas JUCO pipeline to turn Kansas State into a reputable program.

The apex was in 1998 where Kansas State was arguably the best team in the country. Led by Heisman runner-up Michael Bishop, the Wildcats went 11-0 in the regular season, needing only a win over #10 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship Game to secure a spot in the inaugural BCS National Championship Game. The Wildcats were favored by 17 and for most of the game they lived up to their reputation, building a 27-12 lead going into the fourth quarter. It looked like the greatest program turnaround in college football history would be reaching an epic ending for the ages.

However, the impossible happened. The Aggies scored a touchdown and were stopped on their next drive, but while attempting to run out the clock with a 27-19 lead, Kansas State's Michael Bishop fumbled after securing the game-clinching first down but before he could get down. The Aggies tied it up and the Wildcats, in their bid to avoid overtime, launched a Hail Mary that was completed...at the 1. Had that been a touchdown, Bishop may very well have won the Heisman.

The game went to double overtime where Kansas State led 36-33 and had the Aggies backed up at the 32-yard line. Stewart then threw one of the most heartbreaking touchdowns in CFB history to Sirr Parker, and the greatest program turnaround in CFB history was stopped just short of its epic conclusion.

To add insult to injury, the Wildcats, who were ranked #3 in the final BCS standings, weren't even awarded a BCS bid, most infamously being passed over for the Orange Bowl by the #8-ranked Florida Gators. They weren't selected for the Cotton Bowl either, as they picked the 8-3 Texas Longhorns (#20 AP/#19 Coaches') instead. The Wildcats dropped all the way down to the Alamo Bowl to play the Purdue Boilermakers. A dejected Kansas State team lost 37-34.