STILLWATER, Okla. -- Les Miles is looking forward to renewing an old rivalry.

Miles, a former player and assistant coach at Michigan, will coach his Oklahoma State team against No. 24 Ohio State in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.

The Cowboys (7-4), who finished fifth in the Big 12 South, accepted the bowl's invitation Sunday to play in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio.

"I have great memories of Ohio State and I understand that rivalry pretty thoroughly," said Miles, who was born in Akron, Ohio. "I understand the tradition around that program. We look forward to playing them."

Miles said he remembers standing on the sidelines with his father while watching the Buckeyes take the field. He said former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes spoke at a high school banquet.

"I will certainly recognize their uniform," Miles said.

Ohio State (7-4), which finished fifth in the Big Ten, accepted the Alamo Bowl bid Nov. 23 after upsetting then-No. 7 Michigan in its regular-season finale. The Buckeyes beat Oklahoma State 37-13 in 1989 in the only meeting between the two teams.

Both teams will receive at least $1.55 million for playing in the bowl.

The teams enter the game on different paths. The Cowboys started the season 5-0 before losing four of their last six games to fall out of the Top 25. The Buckeyes have won four of their last five after a three-game midseason losing streak.

Miles said he hadn't had time to study Ohio State yet.

"I know that they beat Michigan and I know that they played extremely well toward the back end of their season," Miles said.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said it would be "exciting" to play a team coached by an Ohio native.

It's only the second time that the Cowboys have earned bowl bids in three consecutive seasons. The other time came in the mid-1980s, when Oklahoma State played in the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl and then back-to-back Gator Bowls in 1984 and 1985.

The Cowboys played in the Houston Bowl in 2002 and the Cotton Bowl last season.

It will be the Cowboys' second appearance in the Alamo Bowl, where they lost to Purdue 33-20 in 1997.

Ohio State has reached a bowl for the fifth consecutive season. The Buckeyes played in the past two Fiesta Bowls, defeating Miami in 2003 to win the national championship and beating Kansas State last January.

Tressel said that he watched the tape of last season's Oklahoma State-Kansas State game to prepare for the Wildcats. The Cowboys won that game, 38-34.

"Everyone we've talked to that we know in the Big 12 will tell you they're very physical. They get after it," Tressel said.

"I think they've done a great job building that program. They were able to beat Oklahoma a couple years in a row in the rivalry game. ... Obviously they're an up and coming group," he said.

Originally published Monday, December 6, 2004