"If there was such a thing as a Most Valuable Player award for college football, it might go to Kansas State senior quarterback Collin Klein.
No player has better defined his team and its success over the past couple of seasons than Klein, whose rapid improvement has coincided with Kansas State's return to national prominence."------------------------------------------------------
Chris Huston, Heisman Pundit
Ok, stop what you're doing. Go get a snack. Turn off your phone. Shut your office door. Turn off your montitor (after you click the link) ... and listen to this.
This is the College Football Podcast with Ivan Maisel. Maisel interviews both David Ubben regarding the West Virginia game and visits with Mitch Sherman about the unique program and culture at KSU.
The 15-minutes of Mitch Sherman is pretty much the best commentary on KSU I've heard outside of Manhattan in a long time. An absolute must listen.
"There is something clean and pure about this team. They are the ivory soap of college football."
2) And this is Mitch's very impressive read regarding Snyder's secret to recruiting success. A ton of great information and was well researched. Well done Mr. Sherman (previously of the Omaha-World Herald).
Since 1990, he has won more games than every active Football Bowl Subdivision coach not named Mack Brown, Frank Beamer or Steve Spurrier. And Snyder took three years off before returning to the sideline in 2009.This guy is my new favorite ESPN writer. And here's my tweet to him about it.
3) Mark Schlabach picks KSU as the "road dog" to upset West Virginia this week. And, while the Mountaineers are a 2.5-point favorite, I have a hard time seeing this as a true upset. KSU is the higher ranked team, with more impressive wins on it's resume and no losses. But, no complaints. He's picking a KSU win and predicting Klein to jump to the front of the Heisman race.
He goes with West Virginia to "exploit KSU's secondary" and "get back in the national title hunt." I don't think he'll be exploiting anything -- they may rack up some yards, but this defense has proven they are stingy in the red zone.
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| I liked Mr. McShay better when he had Klein leading the Heisman race and not picking us to lose. |
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| Thanks Eric Stonestreet -- this never ... gets ... old. |
The Wichita Eagle chimes in on the Heisman implications of this week's game.
The senior dual-threat quarterback cares less about his stats than an offensive lineman. He values team success over individual achievements and relies on toughness, patience and his leadership to win games. Though he has thrown for 1,047 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 510 yards and 10 touchdowns, that’s not why voters like him.
He appeals to them as the “best player on the best team.” Many national experts have said no single player means more to his team than Klein, and they might be right. He isn’t flashy and he never says anything controversial, but he is always running for tough yards and making plays with the game on the line.-------------------------------------------------------
So let's make this the last post before Saturday's historic and season-making game of the year.
No score predictions, but I do have a good feeling that KSU has something special this season and just like Klein and Knott last week, and Landry and Stiles in Norman, one or two players is not enough to beat this team. Geno is good, and he will make some plays, but this is a bend, but don't break defense, and I think we're going to get the first INT of the year on Smith.
They will test the secondary early, and if Smith is hitting on all cylinders as he did against Baylor, we're in for a very difficult game. But if we can rattle him a bit early, create some defensive confusion, come out strong with some early touchdowns, and take the crowd of it, the Mountaineers in the face of oppostion at home will likely be in a state of shock (see OU), causing them to press even more, and create even more opportunities for our defense.
On paper, they flat out have not shown they have a defense that can stop KSU, and the two teams in the Big XII most likely to do it, ISU and OU, couldn't do it when it mattered in the 4th. When Klein and Co. need to convert a third down, they have proven this year they have the players and execution to get the job done.
The pattern continues on Saturday.
