Sam Richardson is playing some of the best football he’s ever played, and the numbers back it up.

Richardson has had back-to-back 300-yard passing games, only the third quarterback in school history to do so. Richardson is also completing over 60 percent of his passes, and he leads the team in rushing.

The junior quarterback even broke a school record earlier this year for the most completions in a single game when he connected with his receivers 37 times against Toledo.

“I think he’s grown up,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “I think he’s played at a high level, but there is still a ceiling to reach. With a year-and-a-half to go, I’m very excited to see the growth that is going to continue to take place.”

A lot of different things have factored into Richardson’s recent success, but Rhoads says that one specific area has had a big impact: the offensive line.

“One of the things that Mark [Mangino] noticed right away about Sam a year ago when he came in was that he was spending more time looking at the defense rushing him than he was the progression of our receivers and the pass game downfield,” Rhoads said. “He’s not having to do that now.”

Last season, Richardson sustained an ankle injury in the first week of play. He continued to struggle with injuries throughout the rest of the season and was unable to finish the season.

Rhoads said the growth of the offensive line during the off-season has given Richardson much more time to work through his progression, something he wasn’t fully able to do last year.

“He got hit early, and he got hurt early,” Rhoads said. “He started feeling that and moving; more of a flight rather than fight. That was a byproduct of what wasn’t getting done up front.”

The offensive line is led by redshirt senior center Tom Farniok. Farniok, along with senior tackle Jacob Gannon, has started at least one game in the past four years. Farniok also has a team-high 42 starts, which is the third most in the Big 12 among active players.

The experience that Farniok brings and that he has with the other linemen is something that he says has really impacted their play this season.

“It makes it easier when you know the guy that you’re next to,” Farniok said. “Everyone has got little things that they do a little bit different. You want that feel for each other, and when you have a consistent core of guys it’s easier to develop that. That’s why we’ve been successful the past two weeks.”

And with Oklahoma up next on the schedule Nov. 1, the line, as well as the rest of the team, is focused on confidence.

“A big piece of that is confidence,” Rhoads said. “That’s something that we’ve highlighted in the past eight or nine days and will continue to highlight as we go forward. One of the ways you eliminate any doubt is to have confidence, and we’ve talked about the various ways to gain that confidence as we take the field.”