MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The longest week for a college football coach is the one following a last-second loss.Its going to be two long weeks for Bill Snyder.Kansas State controlled most of its game against Oklahoma State last Saturday, and led 37-28 with the ball in Cowboys territory in the fourth quarter. But after getting stuffed on third-and-inches and deciding to punt, coach Mike Gundys team ripped off two quick touchdowns to steal the win.The loss followed a trend for the Wildcats: Theyve beaten the teams they are supposed to beat, and come up short -- painfully short, on two occasions -- against teams that could have turned their season.The nature of Kansas State football, it has always been to meet the challenge and having the persistence to work through things like this, Snyder said. It is a major test of our character, players and coaches alike. I like to believe our guys will respond.The Wildcats (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) wont get that chance until visiting Baylor on Nov. 19.Still, the season has so far shaped up to be one of missed opportunities.They traveled to Stanford for their opener and took a 26-13 defeat, though in retrospect its a game that the Wildcats could easily have won. And considering the Cardinal have been a similarly middling team in the weeks since then, the loss stands out even more.Oh, and they got a week off to rue that loss, too.Then, in the Wildcats conference opener at West Virginia, they blew a 13-0 halftime and gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 17-16 defeat that was every bit as crippling as this past weeks loss.Oh, but that loss to the Cowboys.Kansas State dominated the third quarter to turn a 23-21 deficit into a two-possession lead, and was marching for a score that could have put it away. But after quarterback Jesse Ertz was stacked up on third down at the Cowboys 48, Snyder elected to send the punt unit on the field rather than try again.When asked why, he replied: I didnt want to put our defense in a bad position.Still, the curious decision came two weeks after Snyder made a similar gamble in a 24-21 victory over Texas. He explained it at the time by saying if his ground-based offense and rapidly improving offensive line couldnt gain a couple inches, we might as well go into the locker room.Running back Charles Jones said he wished the Wildcats would have gone for it, but he and offensive lineman Dalton Risner also said they understood the decision to punt.We can argue as much as we want, Risner said, but if we didnt get it on third-and-inches, how is coach supposed to expect us to get it on fourth-and-inches? Its on us.The loss kept the Wildcats from becoming bowl-eligible for the seventh straight season, though in reality is likely delayed the inevitable. Even if they lose to Baylor -- which got waxed by TCU last weekend -- there is still a home game against lowly Kansas waiting the following week.Kansas State also visits the Horned Frogs the first weekend of December.There were plenty of positives to take away from the game against the Cowboys, of course. Ertz ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns as he continues to become comfortable running the read-option offense, and the Wildcats piled up 345 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as a team.But the defense also gave up 457 yards and five touchdowns through the air, and couldnt get a stop when the Cowboys were marching for the decisive scores in the fourth quarter.Its disappointing. Theres so much that could have come with this, defensive end Jordan Willis said. I couldnt care less with my senior season, but right now for the team it could have done so much for us. We have a bye week, so we can go back to the drawing board and see where we can go from here. 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Clearance Huaraches .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. The career of Sydney FC skipper Alex Brosque still has two or three A-League seasons to run, according to coach Graham Arnold.Little over six months ago thoughts of retirement crept into Brosques mind as he struggled with a serious hamstring injury.Now recovered from career-saving surgery, Arnold said the 33-year-old was simply too talented to play only off the bench.Brosque played his first full 90 minutes last week in Sydneys FFA Cup semi-final win over Canberra Olympic, but has been used as a substitute in the A-League, contributing two goals in three appearances.Hell likely play the same role against Newcastle on Saturday, though Arnold was adamant that would not last.No, hes too good for that, Arnold said.At the moment were building his fitness and making sure theres no slip-ups with what happened to his hamstring.Alex is in a really good headspace at the moment - hes enjoying being part of things.He wantted to continue this year because of what happened with his hamstring last year, he didnt want to finish that way.ddddddddddddI still think he has another two or three years left in him.The Sky Blues will seek to continue their unblemished start to the season against the Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.As he readied his table-topping side, Arnold tried to put a lid on the kind of expectations that unavoidably accompany nine points, nine goals and three clean sheets from three games.We have a huge belief and trust within the players but its only round three, its nothing yet, he said.Consistency for me is the biggest key, we try for that every week.If we can do that were confident of winning every week.But I keep telling the boys weve achieved nothing.Weve had a good start, thats all. 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