Wildcats fail to capitalize on scoring opportunities at UCLA

PASADENA, Calif. — It appears the majority of the K-State football team agrees on one thing about the offense: it is getting better, but it just cannot produce points.

In Saturday's 23-9 loss to UCLA (3-0), the Wildcat offensive unit performed eerily similar to last week's upset at Louisiana-Lafayette. The team moved the ball down the field at will, but could not capitalize on scoring opportunities throughout the game.

"For the most part, we set ourselves up pretty good," said junior quarterback Carson Coffman. "Our coaches were calling good plays, we were moving the ball down the field. It's always frustrating when you lose and you know you had the opportunities to win the game."

Coffman finished the game 20-of-34 for 193 yards and two interceptions. He has not thrown a touchdown pass in more than eight quarters.

The Wildcats (1-2) had few problems getting into Bruin territory — they did on seven of their 10 possessions — but turnovers and mental mistakes played a large role in limiting K-State to just nine points.

After the game, head coach Bill Snyder said he was pleased with portions of the offense's effort — particularly that of Coffman — but he was disappointed with its lack of ability to finish drives with points.

"Once again, we just failed to take advantage of opportunities that presented themselves," Snyder said. "Carson did some good things, but made a lot of mistakes as well."

Junior running back Daniel Thomas was again used in several facets of K-State's game plan, rushing 15 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. He took several snaps during the game as K-State often used the "Wildcat" formation. He completed his only pass attempt of the night — a six-yard strike to senior wide receiver Brandon Banks in the second quarter. Although he constantly provided life to the otherwise stagnant offense throughout the night, Thomas expressed disappointment in his own performance, saying a stronger personal effort would have made a positive impact on the final outcome.

"I think I did a pretty good job, but not as good as I could have." Thomas said. "We're just missing so many opportunities offensively. We're putting the defense in bad situations. We've just got to capitalize when we have the ball."

The offense was not the only unit that struggled during the loss as special teams woes continued to plague the Wildcats for the third consecutive week. After misfiring on his first three attempts of 2009, junior placekicker Josh Cherry connected on a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, but a 40-yard attempt by Cherry later in the contest sailed wide to the right. He has missed four of his first five career attempts.

K-State also failed to record an extra point on its only touchdown of the night when the snap was bobbled and holder Ryan Doerr's desperation pass attempt fell harmlessly to the grass. Through their first three games, the Wildcats have muffed two snaps on field goal attempts and had a punt blocked for a touchdown.

Both units will continue their attempts to establish an identity and develop more consistent play when K-State takes the field against Tennessee Tech Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium. The contest marks the Wildcats' first home action since their season-opening win against Massachusetts. Kickoff is set for 1:10 p.m.