This season the Kansas State Wildcats are undefeated and are a dark horse candidate to make it to the BCS championship game.
The success of the team can be attributed to head coach Bill Snyder, but the true reason for the exceptional play of the team falls on the shoulders of quarterback Collin Klein.
This season the senior quarterback has amassed stats unlike any other player in the country. He has thrown for 1,397 yards and 10 touchdowns through seven games and has added over 500 yards rushing with an astounding 14 touchdowns.
"Collin Klein has a pretty big lead," said Fox Sports college football writer Cory McCartney, according to the Kansas City Star. "He just dominated in a huge national spotlight game against the guy who had the lead. It is his to lose."
Last year the team was killed by Oklahoma 58-17 after starting 7-0 due to a weak defense, but this year the team is much improved on that side of the ball, holding opponents to only 16 points per game. The team also scores 42 points per game, good for tenth in the country. The majority of that is due to the play of Klein.
The quarterback is responsible for 64 percent of the team's offense this year, which is the best in the country.
The most amazing thing about Klein's story is that three years ago he wasn't even a quarterback. In 2009 he played at wide receiver for the Wildcats before making his first start as a quarterback against Texas in 2010.
"It took awhile to develop - that's why he was a receiver," Snyder said recently, according to USA Today. "Over a period of time, you could see two things: One, he had those values that wherever he played, he'd continue to improve and get better and become good at it, and two, we didn't have a backup quarterback at the time and, like anything else, he's invested in it and would find ways to get better."
In 2011 he was named the starter and showed his athletic ability, rushing for over 1,100 yards and 27 touchdowns and passing for 1,918 yards and 13 touchdowns. Klein was mostly a rushing quarterback in 2011, but this season he has shown that he is a complete dual-threat and the likely favorite for the Heisman trophy.
"I hate saying it, because there is a lot of football left to play, but it is going to take a lot for someone to catch him," McCartney said. "I think K-State can suffer at least one loss and he can still win. The only thing that will lose him a little bit of his lead is if they lose and he performs badly."
Klein is also completing over 70 percent of his passes and has thrown only two interceptions in seven games.
Klein had a huge game against the West Virginia Mountaineers and quarterback Geno Smith (a Heisman candidate himself) last Saturday, scoring seven touchdowns and gaining over 330 yards on his own through passing and rushing.
"He's a very well-rounded young guy," Snyder said. "He can do a lot of things. He's a talented musician. He's a tremendous family man. He's very strong with his faith. He cares about his teammates - a genuine care and concern. He's able to organize the many things he does in his life in such a way that he can still focus diligently on football and set aside time for family, academics, and do it in such a way that he's not in a rush."
He has scored at least three rushing touchdowns in three different games this season and has had at least one in each game apart from the season opener against Missouri State.
Klein now has the career record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and has led the Wildcats to at least 50 points in four different games this season. He is the second highest rated quarterback in the country and has made the Wildcats into a powerhouse.
The team hosts high-scoring Texas Tech on Saturday. The Red Raiders are ranked No. 14 and are tied for second place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma, one game behind the Wildcats. Klein will be facing a tough defense on Saturday, but based on how he has played this season, one could expect another big game from the senior quarterback.
One could also expect to see the senior quarterback hoisting the Heisman trophy this winter.
