Print edition: 
COLUMBIA, Mo. — One second the Kansas State football team thought it was in for a shootout. The next, it was trying to avoid a blowout.
That's the way Saturday's game went at Faurot Field. Instead of building off two impressive touchdown drives in the first half and hanging with Missouri's high-powered offense for four quarters, the Wildcats allowed a series of gaffes to get the best of them and suffered a painful 38-28 loss.
"It's a hard one to handle," said wide receiver Aubrey Quarles, who caught nine passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. "You come out here on the road and you know it's going to be hard with all the fans against you. We had something going at first, but we just weren't able to capitalize. It hurts us deep down inside."
The biggest failure to capitalize came at the end of the first half, when senior quarterback Carson Coffman fell to his knees and slammed his right fist against the ground after losing a fumble at the one-yard line.
With Missouri leading 21-14, Coffman led his team down the field and connected with Adrian Hilburn on a 14-yard pass that was so close to being caught in the end zone that officials reviewed the play with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter. He was ruled down one-yard shy, and K-State lined up for an option run on the next play.
With most of Missouri's defense stacked to Coffman's right, he readied himself for a quick run to the left that could have tied the score. But he dropped the snap before he could run anywhere.
"That was a big mistake by me," Coffman said. "I think I tried to pull out too early. I've got to be secure with the football in that situation."
Missouri pounced on the ball and ran out the clock. Instead of heading to the locker room all even, K-State lost its momentum and spent the entire second half trying to catch up.
It never happened.
"That was a big turning point in the game," Coffman said. "We never really quite recovered from that."
After starting the game, Coffman split time at quarterback with Collin Klein, who played well for the most part and once again brought a spark to K-State's offense with his mobility. He rushed for 141 yards on 18 carries and completed four of six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Wildcats on each of their scoring drives in the first half, and helped them total 422 yards by game's end.
But when it comes to passing, K-State coach Bill Snyder still has more confidence in Coffman, who completed 11 of 19 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. So he was asked to lead the Wildcats' two-minute offense.
Afterward, Snyder was asked if all those substitutions contributed to the fumble.
"I don't think that had anything to do with the quarterbacks," Snyder said. "Each of them made mistakes, but I don't think it had anything to do with rhythm because they both did some good things."
The Wildcats did have their chances to get back in the game. They received the opening kickoff of the second half but could sustain a drive, and freshman linebacker Tre Walker intercepted Blaine Gabbert on the Tigers' first drive in the third quarter. But K-State’s mistakes began to multiply.
With 5 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Coffman was blindsided with a big hit by Aldon Smith while trying to throw at midfield. He ended up fumbling the ball, and Missouri's Jacquies Smith scooped it up for a 53-yard touchdown return.
On the Wildcats' next play from scrimmage, it tried to catch the Tigers off guard by running a fumblerooski with Klein under center. The play went horribly wrong, and running back John Hubert fumbled while trying to pick up the ball. Missouri recovered, and soon kicked a field goal.
K-State went three-and-out on its next possession, and Gabbert — who finished with 208 yards passing, 89 rushing and three total touchdowns — responded by hitting T.J. Moe for their second touchdown connection of the game to give Missouri a 38-14 lead.
Coffman then opened the fourth quarter by throwing an interception.
"Penalties, interceptions and fumbles killed us," said senior running back Daniel Thomas, who rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
The Wildcats rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but they came too late.
Klein could only shake his head when thinking about what could have been.
"You can't turn the ball over four times," Klein said. "Especially on the road, and expect to win."
Missouri (8-2 overall, 4-2 Big 12) will now try to build a winning streak at Iowa State. K-State (6-4, 3-4) will now need to rebound on the road next week against Colorado to improve its bowl stock.
With fewer errors, it might have done that Saturday.
"We all believe (this game) should have been closer," said wide receiver Cole Bachamp. "But we didn't execute and we turned the ball over four times and we didn't make enough plays. It was very disappointing. It was a missed opportunity."
