Tempe, Ariz. ? Ell Roberson’s bumpy ride at Kansas State is almost over.

Friday night at Sun Devil Stadium, he’ll pull on his No. 3 game jersey one more time — and try to pull off the biggest exit performance by any quarterback in Wildcats history.

But as No. 8 Kansas State prepared to take on No. 7 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, Roberson at first dismissed — but then discussed — questions about his legacy at the school.

“I try not to think about that,” he said. “I try to let my game play out, and hopefully it’s good enough to make people think good thoughts about me once the game is over.

“Then, later on down the road, when they look back and see what I’ve done, they can know I was one of the best quarterbacks at Kansas State.”

The Wildcats have had other standouts at the position — but none went out with a win in a major bowl.

Lynn Dickey (1967-70) and Steve Grogan (1972-74) both had lengthy NFL careers, but played on Kansas State teams that ranged from mediocre to awful.

More recently, Michael Bishop led Kansas State to its biggest bowl win to date, also in the Fiesta Bowl — but that was after the 1997 season, when Bishop was a junior.

He led the Wildcats to a No. 2 ranking — their highest ever — and the Big 12 title game as a senior, but his brilliant two-year career ended with a whimper when Kansas State lost the conference championship to Texas A&M and was beaten in the Alamo Bowl by unranked Purdue.

Kansas State football players head to the locker rooms at Scottsdale Community College prior to their final practice for the Fiesta Bowl. The Wildcats worked out Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., in preparation for Friday's game in Tempe, Ariz.

After the 2000 season, Jonathan Beasley threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in a 35-21 Cotton Bowl victory over Tennessee.

No matter the outcome of Friday night’s game, though, Roberson already has left his mark in Kansas State’s record book.

This year, he set career marks for total offense, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. While the latter two records are likely to fall to All-America running back Darren Sproles next year, Roberson’s total-offense record of 7,591 yards and counting appears safe for a while.

Roberson set all those records despite not winning the starter’s job outright until the fourth game of his junior season — and then missing 21/2 games this year with an injured left wrist.

“I want to be remembered for this year, for never giving up and continuing to fight the whole season through all the ups and downs,” he said.

Roberson had hoped to inherit Beasley’s job as a sophomore in 2001. Instead, coach Bill Snyder brought in junior-college transfer Marc Dunn, who was a more accurate passer but didn’t have Roberson’s mobility.

The Wildcats never jelled around either quarterback and finished 6-6, their worst record since going 5-6 in 1992. A year later, Roberson won the job from Dunn with a strong performance against Southern California and never looked back.

He ran for 1,043 yards and threw for 1,580 yards as a junior, and this year has rushed for 943 yards and 13 scores and thrown for 2,251 yards and 24 TDs.

“He can run the ball, he’s very smart with the ball, and he can throw the ball,” Ohio State defensive tackle Tim Anderson said. “He can throw it 50 yards when he needs to, and he can throw it 10 yards when he needs to. He’s pretty dangerous.”

His early struggles to win the starting job fueled his later successes, Roberson said.

“That put me to where I am right now — being able to take that and get better and learn the ins and outs of what it takes to be a quarterback at Kansas State University,” he said. “I don’t think I would be where I’m at right now without those years.”

Teammates noticed his progress, too.

“He knows the offense really well, a lot better than he did last year,” guard Ryan Lilja said. “He’s confident, he doesn’t second-guess himself on the field, and he knows what everybody else on the field is doing. He presents a huge challenge.”

Whether Roberson can succeed in the NFL — something no Kansas State quarterback has done since Grogan’s 15-year career ended in 1990 — remains to be seen.

“I’m still focused on this game, but it crosses your mind,” Roberson said. “I have aspirations of playing at the next level, and I feel I can compete at the next level.”