Kansas State senior quarterback Collin Klein has been named one of 15 finalists for the 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is given annually to college football’s best senior quarterback.

Klein joins fellow Big 12 senior signal callers Geno Smith of West Virginia, Landry Jones of Oklahoma and Nick Florence of Baylor on the list of finalists for the award, which goes to the quarterback who “encapsulates all that is positive in college sports by going beyond completion percentage and touchdowns to also value character, citizenship, integrity, and those who honor the game.”

The 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner will be announced December 7 at the award presentation in Baltimore, Md.

One of the most valuable players in all of college football, Klein has had a terrific start to the 2012 season. Klein, who is 16-4 as a starting quarterback, has thrown for 887 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 405 yards and seven more scores so far in 2012.

He also currently ranks first among all active quarterbacks and second among all players with 40 career rushing touchdowns, while Klein is also one of only four players in the history of the game to rush for 20 or more touchdowns and throw for 10 or more in the same season, joining three Heisman Trophy winners. Additionally, Klein has a nation-leading 13 games since 2011 with at least one passing and one rushing touchdown in a game.

No. 5 K-State travels to 25th-ranked Iowa State Saturday for a key Big 12 Conference matchup. Kickoff from Jack Trice Stadium is scheduled for 11:05 a.m., and the game will be televised nationally on FX.

— KSU Sports Information —

With field position playing a critical role in Kansas State’s 24-19 victory at No. 5 Oklahoma Saturday, Wildcat punter Ryan Doerr was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

Doerr picked up his first career honor from the Big 12, while it was K-State’s third honor in as many weeks as Collin Klein was the offensive player of the week following the Miami game and kickoff returner Tyler Lockett collected the special teams honor after his performance against North Texas.

A product of Katy, Texas, Doerr’s honor is the 12th player of the week award by the Wildcats since the beginning of the 2011, the most in the Big 12 and five more than the team in second place (Baylor).

Doerr was called upon five times to pin the Sooners deep in their own territory Saturday night, and each time he forced OU to begin inside its own 20-yard line – including a pair inside the 10-yard line – as he bettered his previous career high of three. OU’s average drive start after Doerr’s punts was the 12-yard line, while his longest punt of the evening was a 49-yarder.

Seventh-ranked Kansas State is idle this week before welcoming Kansas in the Dillon’s Sunflower Showdown at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday, October 6. Kick time for the game against the Jayhawks will be announced later Monday.

— KSU Sports Information —

Following his third career kickoff-return touchdown last week against North Texas, Kansas State kick returner Tyler Lockett has been named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

It was the Wildcats’ second honor in as many weeks as Collin Klein picked up the offensive award following his performance against Miami. Since last year, K-State has a Big 12-leading 11 league player-of-the-week honors, including three by Lockett. The Tulsa, Okla., product was also named the special teams player of the week following the Kansas and Oklahoma State contests last season.

Last Saturday, Lockett answered a touchdown by the Mean Green with a 96-yard return for a score on the ensuing kickoff, which propelled the Wildcats to a 35-21 victory. The return for a touchdown was the third in Lockett’s career as he is now in sole possession of second place in the K-State record book and is two away from tying Brandon Banks’ record of five (2008-09).

The sophomore also ranks second nationally among active players in career kickoff return touchdowns. He finished the night with 119 yards on two kickoff returns, while he also caught one pass for six yards. Lockett was joined by Texas quarterback David Ash (offensive) and TCU linebacker Joel Hasley (defensive) in earning weekly honors from the Big 12.

No. 13 Kansas State (3-0) hits the road for the first time in 2012 and opens Big 12 play at No. 5 Oklahoma (2-0) Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. The game, which kicks off at 6:50 p.m., will be shown to a national audience as FOX College Football’s Game of the Week with Gus Johnson, Charles Davis and Julie Alexandria on the call. Additionally, the game will be shown by FOX Deportes, FOX’s Spanish-language channel, while fans can also hear the action on the K-State Sports Network.

— KSU Sports Information —

Bill Snyder saw it coming all week in practice.

The missed tackles. The dropped passes. The lousy blocking, terrible execution and distressing lack of focus gave the Kansas State coach trepidation with North Texas coming to town.

If not for another gutsy performance by Collin Klein, and a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Tyler Locket, the No. 15 Wildcats might have been saddled with an embarrassing defeat before heading into next Saturday’s showdown against fifth-ranked Oklahoma.

Instead, they managed to eke out a 35-21 victory on Saturday night.

”If you don’t prepare yourself well then most anything can happen,” Snyder said afterward. ”It was the attitude we took into the ballgame. There wasn’t anything else to blame it on.”

Of course, Snyder was also quick to credit North Texas.

The Mean Green (1-2) scratched and clawed their way within 14-13 late in the third quarter before Klein hit and Tramaine Thompson for their second touchdown. John Hubert tacked on a TD run moments later, and Klein’s fourth-quarter score allowed the Wildcats (3-0) to escape.

Albeit with a far less impressive showing than last week’s 52-13 romp over Miami.

”North Texas is better than people think, first of all,” said Klein, who passed for 230 yards and accounted for three scores. ”There was a lot of emotion coming off a big game, but the great teams are the exact same no matter who the opponent is.”

Evidently, the Wildcats are still in search of greatness.

”There probably isn’t anything that doesn’t need vast improvement,” Snyder said. ”It’s taking something for granted. We didn’t practice well Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.”

North Texas nearly made them pay for it, too.

Derek Thompson was 25 of 28 for 208 yards and a late TD pass for the Mean Green, who converted the 2-point conversion to get within two touchdowns with 2:31 remaining in the game. An onside kick was recovered by the Wildcats, though, allowing them to run out the clock.

”My football team came here believing that we could win, not hoping that we could win,” said North Texas’ Dan McCarney, who regularly faced the Wildcats when he was the coach at Iowa State.

”I didn’t sense any hope that we could go win a game. I sensed in our preparation and from watching on the sidelines this team really believed we could win the game,” McCarney said. “But we weren’t good enough to do it tonight.”

Still, North Texas held its Big 12 opponent to 143 yards rushing – Kansas State entered the game sixth nationally at better than 300 yards per game – while holding the ball an astonishing 37 minutes, 4 seconds, which prevented the Wildcats from getting into a rhythm.

Kansas State ran six offensive plays in the first quarter.

”We ran the ball well when we needed to, and we kept our defense off the field,” Derek Thompson said. ”Like I said, unfortunately we just didn’t execute when we needed to.”

They were executing early in the game, though. Brelan Chancellor capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

That’s when Lockett fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 4-yard line. He started up field, angled to his left and found a seam down the sideline for his third career kick return touchdown, pulling the Wildcats into a 7-all tie without their offense having to take the field.

”That was major,” Snyder said. ”That was probably the difference in the game.”

The game was still tied when North Texas ended a promising drive with a blocked field goal attempt. The Wildcats capitalized on the miscue, moseying downfield in five plays before Klein went over the top to Tramaine Thompson, whose 38-yard touchdown catch gave Kansas State the lead.

The Mean Green had a chance to pull even on the first drive of the second half, using nearly half of the third quarter to move 88 yards. Antoinne Jimmerson’s short TD run capped the 14-play drive, but the extra point was wide right and Kansas State clung to a one-point lead.

Klein hit Thompson a few minutes later, this time from 21 yards, and Hubert and Klein tacked on their fourth-quarter TD runs to finally allow the Wildcats – and the purple-clad faithful – to start looking ahead to next weekend’s showdown at Oklahoma.

Just in case they hadn’t been already this week.

”Across the board, I didn’t think we played like we were capable of playing,” Snyder said. ”We were hanging on by the skin of our teeth most of the game.”

— Associated Press —

After accounting for four touchdowns in Kansas State’s 52-13 victory over Miami on Saturday, senior quarterback Collin Klein has been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

The honor was Klein’s second of his career after earning the nod following the Texas A&M game last season, while the Wildcats have picked up 10 league player of the week honors in the last two years.

Klein threw for 210 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-11 passing against the Hurricanes, an amazing 23.3 yards per completion. It was the most yards per completion since 2005, while he came away from the contest with a near-perfect 254.0 pass efficiency rating. The Loveland, Colo., product ranks third in the Big 12 and 10th nationally with a 173.68 efficiency rating through the first two games.

On the ground, Klein rushed for three scores – the 10th multi-touchdown game of his career – while totaling 71 yards on 22 carries. Klein ranks second nationally in career multi-touchdown games among active quarterbacks, while he leads all active quarterbacks with 30 rushing touchdowns since the beginning of the 2011 season.

No. 14 Kansas State (2-0) completes non-conference play this Saturday with a 6 p.m., tilt against North Texas (1-1) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

— KSU Sports Information —

Turns out Collin Klein can throw the ball a bit, too.

The gritty run-first quarterback of No. 21 Kansas State was nearly perfect through the air on Saturday, throwing for 210 yards and a touchdown — and of course, adding 71 yards and three more scores on the ground — as the Wildcats pounded Miami 52-13 on a sun-splashed afternoon.

This was no repeat of last season, when the Wildcats needed a defiant goal-line stand in the closing minutes to eke out a 28-24 victory in Coral Gables, Fla.

Behind the masterful play of Klein, who was 9-of-11 passing, the Wildcats scored on their first four series, led 24-6 at halftime and then tacked on a couple late scores for good measure.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Klein, who burnished a national reputation by bulldozing his way for 27 touchdowns rushing last season. “Credit our coaches with a great game plan going in, and putting us in some good opportunities.”

Not just for Klein, either.

John Hubert added 106 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Daniel Sams had two scores on the ground as the Wildcats (2-0) rolled up 498 yards of total offense while holding Miami to 262.

“They were excellent. They beat us in all three phases,” Miami coach Al Golden said. “They outplayed us, outcoached us, starting with me, and that’s it. No excuses. They deserved to win.”

Stephen Morris threw for 215 yards for Miami (1-1), but was sacked five times. The Canes lost three fumbles and managed 40 yards rushing — an average of 1.4 per attempt.

Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown, who began his career with the Hurricanes, ground a bit of dirt in their wounds. The Butkus Award candidate recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up a short TD drive, then helped cause a turnover-on-downs with a third-quarter sack.

The senior captain finished with a game-high 10 tackles.

“Guys kept saying on the sideline, ‘This is fun,'” Brown said. “This is what we prepare for.”

The Wildcats improved to 6-0 at home against BCS nonconference opponents under Bill Snyder, who has the program he elevated to elite status humming again. Kansas State hosts North Texas next Saturday, which means it likely will be 3-0 heading to No. 5 Oklahoma on Sept. 22.

“We’re a work in progress,” Snyder said, “but we’re vastly improved.”

Hard to say the same for the Hurricanes, whose performance was summed up by a 5-second span in the fourth quarter: Morris fumbled the ball away while getting sacked, and Sams sprinted 15 yards on the next play to give Kansas State a 45-6 lead with 10:51 remaining.

Miami (1-1) scored its only touchdown in the closing minutes, when backup quarterback Ryan Williams completed a short scoring pass following a long kickoff return.

“That’s basically what football’s about — adversity and overcoming it,” Miami running back Duke Johnson said, “and that’s something we try to do time and time again.”

The Canes, opening with consecutive road games for the first time since 2005, certainly looked like an inexperienced bunch against the senior-laden Wildcats. Fourteen players appeared in their first game a week ago, including 12 freshmen from a roster that has 42 first-year guys.

Johnson, their talented freshman tailback, managed only 19 yards on the ground after gaining 135 in last Saturday’s win at Boston College, when Miami rallied from an early 14-0 deficit.

The Canes’ defense never gave them a chance to come back this time.

Kansas State’s first empty possession was its fifth one, when Anthony Cantele missed a short field goal. Klein had touchdown runs of 1 and 6 yards, and hit Curry Sexton down the seam for a 27-yard scoring strike before the Hurricanes even knew what hit them.

“The thing is we had such a good game plan,” Sexton said. “We just had to execute.”

The Hurricanes had trouble doing the same thing, their best drive coming while running their 2-minute offense. Jake Wieclaw’s second field goal at the end of the first half made it 24-6.

Klein answered with his third touchdown run early in the third quarter, and after the Wildcats held Miami on fourth down deep in their own territory, the senior quarterback led Kansas State on a 97-yard drive highlighted by a 58-yard pass to backup tight end Zach Trujillo.

This time, it was Hubert capping the drive with a touchdown run.

Klein’s day was done after that, and when Miami fumbled on its next possession, Sams took over the offense. The elusive freshman needed one play to scoot 15 yards for a touchdown, and then added an 11-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter to punctuate the victory.

“We know where we’re at right now as a team. We’re building,” Golden said. “I didn’t think we had arrived last week, and clearly we can’t play that way against Kansas State out here and spot them a lead and think we’re going to come back.”

— Associated Press —

Collin Klein threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns, John Hubert ran 95 yards for a fourth-quarter score and No. 22 Kansas State pulled away late to beat Missouri State 51-9 Saturday night.

Hubert finished with 152 yards rushing, Braden Wilson and Daniel Sams added touchdown runs, and Tramaine Thompson returned a punt 89 yards for another score as the Wildcats (1-0) tuned up for next week’s showdown with Miami with an impressive second-half scoring binge.

The game was tied at 9 early in the third quarter before Kansas State piled up 42 straight points against the team picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The late surge allowed a sellout crowd of 50,007 to relax, assured that Kansas State wouldn’t need more late-game antics in an opener against a middling opponent.

Last year, the Wildcats needed a long touchdown pass from Klein in the waning minutes to beat Eastern Kentucky, another program from the Football Championship Subdivision.

Missouri transfer Ashton Glaser was 22 of 44 for 257 yards for the Bears (0-1), who won just two games last season and had been going through some turmoil — special teams coach Bob Montgomery resigned just 10 days ago so to pursue a business opportunity.

It was the 20th consecutive season-opening win for Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who returned to the sideline four years ago after a brief retirement to rescue a program that had fallen back on hard times. The Wildcats won 10 games last season and reached the Cotton Bowl.

Expectations are much higher this season — the Wildcats will no longer sneak up on anybody — and that showed as Missouri State gave everything it had most of the night.

The Bears had a healthy advantage in total offense by the end of the third quarter, but were done in by a couple mistakes that kept points off the board.

Wide receiver Julian Burton fumbled just short of the goal line to waste a touchdown chance in the first quarter, and a dropped pass midway through the fourth wiped out another likely score.

The Wildcats certainly didn’t give the Hurricanes, who beat Boston College earlier in the day, any helpful video to prepare for next week’s matchup in Manhattan.

They hardly blitzed on defense and ran a vanilla offense, and that was part of the reason the game was close into the second half. After carrying 317 times last season, Klein didn’t take off on a designed run until midway through the second quarter, and finished with just 54 yards rushing.

It was Klein’s legs that helped set up Kansas State’s first touchdown, though — an 18-yard pass to Thompson with 7:06 left in the third quarter. And it was a 17-yard draw by Klein that set up Wilson’s four-yard touchdown run a few minutes later to make it 23-9.

The Wildcats quickly got the ball back and Hubert scooted free for a 95-yard touchdown, the second-longest in school history. Gerald Hackney went 96 yards against Kansas on Nov. 2, 1948.

Klein added a short touchdown pass to Chris Harper before giving way to Sams, the freshman backup, and he scooted 46 yards for another touchdown. Thompson capped the scoring with his dynamic punt return in the closing minutes to make the score appear much more lopsided.

— Associated Press —