Collins possesses all the skills to deliver good stats. In 1994, as a senior, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a 12-0 record. The success was further topped by a 38-20 victory over Oregon in the 1995 Rose Bowl. In his college football history, he had one of the finest campaigns, when he delivered a 172.9 pass efficiency rating. By completing 176 of 264 passes (66.7%) for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns and averaging 10.15 yards per attempt he earned Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top college quarterback, the Maxwell Award as the nation's dazzling player and honors as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. For pass efficiency, completions, passing yards, total offense, yards per attempt and 200-yard games, he tied school single-season records. As a starter, he led Penn State to victories in his last 17 games. The same year he set a Penn State record against Michigan State . He set school marks for attempts and completions against BYU. In 1990, he was red-shirted as a freshman.