Kansas State QB Jake Waters Proves He Has Skills to Beat Auburn

With a Thursday night matchup against the Auburn Tigers looming for Kansas State, Saturday’s contest against Iowa State had all the makings of the perfect trap game. 

And for most of the game, it looked as though the Cyclones, coming off a deflating loss to North Dakota State last week, would upend the Wildcats, who are projected as one of the front-runners in the Big 12. 

Instead, a stellar final drive by quarterback Jake Waters—who had a career day in his home state of Iowa—that capped off a 15-point comeback and set the stage for Waters to lead the Wildcats to a possible upset over the Tigers.

Waters, who's been under a mountain of pressure in the Little Apple since his backup last year, Daniel Sams, transferred to McNeese State, was the unquestioned superstar on Saturday. 

K-State's gunslinger had arguably the best game of his career against the Cyclones, accounting for two of the team's four touchdowns, both on the ground, and racking up 377 total yards. He also had a career rushing day, picking up 138 yards on mostly designed quarterback draws. 

It was Waters' game-winning touchdown run with 90 seconds left in the game that capped off a 32-28 win for the Wildcats. 

Waters looked like Collin Klein—who's now a graduate assistant with the Wildcats—out there in Ames. And that proves that Waters has what it takes to lead K-State to a win in what Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer called college football's "Game of 2014"—a September 18 tilt with Auburn. 

Last season, when the Wildcats started 0-3 in Big 12 play and just 2-5 overall, there was probably the biggest quarterback controversy in America happening in Manhattan. Waters and Sams couldn't separate from one another, and Snyder gave both guys ample opportunity throughout the course of the season. 

But the Wildcats finished 2014 on a 6-1 run—the only loss coming to the Oklahoma Sooners. During that stretch, Waters finally separated himself from Sams. 

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By the time the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl rolled around, Waters was in full stride. The Wildcats beat the Michigan Wolverines in that game thanks largely in part to Waters' 271 yards and three touchdowns through the air. 

Because Waters had all but secured the starting job for the Wildcats, Sams tried a position change to wide receiver this spring. Sams failed to make any significant noise there, so he decided to transfer to FCS McNeese State, the team that just gave Nebraska a run for its money. 

But it's clear that the Wildcats got the better end of that deal, as Sams is still playing second fiddle behind McNeese State starting quarterback Tyler Bolfing. 

Meanwhile, Waters has a bowl win as a starter under his belt and is finding his stride at the FBS, Big 12 level. 

Now he'll truly be put to the test, as the Wildcats have just under two weeks before a Thursday night prime-time matchup against Auburn. 

Kevin Haskin of The Topeka Capital-Journal wrote after Saturday's win over Iowa State how Waters is becoming a bona fide leader for the Wildcats. 

“He was ready to compete,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said, according to Haskin. “There was no doubt in my mind, nor anyone else’s.”

Auburn's defense is menacing, as always. But against Arkansas in Week 1, Razorbacks gunslinger Brandon Allen found at least a small bit of success against the Tigers, throwing for two scores and completing 18 of his 31 passes. 

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Even going back to last year's season, the teams that gave Auburn the most trouble had good quarterback play. Against Florida State, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia and Texas A&M, the Tigers were 4-1 but also gave up an average of 337 yards passing, with the Aggies and Bulldogs surpassing the 400-yard mark through the air. 

Auburn's weakness is its secondary, and K-State's strength is slowly but surely becoming Waters. 

On Saturday against Iowa State, in a game where seemingly everything went wrong for the Wildcats, Waters did most everything right. More importantly, he proved that he can carry the load for a Big 12 title contender and that he's capable of beating the defending SEC champions.