MANHATTAN – After scoring only two touchdowns in its first two games, Kansas State’s offense found the endzone five times on Saturday en route to a 41-17 win over the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Three of those touchdowns came from Wildcat quarterback Skylar Thompson.  Thompson’s first score came on a 42-yard pass delivered over the shoulder of Dalton Schoen.  Isaiah Zuber, the recipient of Thompson’s second touchdown toss, was Thompson’s favorite target.  Zuber reeled in seven catches for 144 yards and two scores.   Thompson threw for 213 yards in total, but saw only limited action in the second half.

In addition to his efficient day through the air, Thompson added a 27-yard rushing touchdown, showing off a stutter-step that left a UTSA defender frozen.

K-State’s Bill Snyder was complimentary of Thompson’s performance.

“Skylar did a nice job,” Snyder said.  “Two of Skylar’s touchdown passes were excellent throws, threading the needle. It starts with protection and our protection was good enough for our quarterback to have time. Our receivers did a nice job of getting open and catching the ball on deep throws.”

Although the passing attack was effective, K-State’s offensive line continued its season-long struggle to get a strong push in the running game.

Saturday’s performance likely does not completely cure fans’ lingering anxiety, but it was an encouraging performance nonetheless.

With Thompson being given the reins, the Wildcat offense finally seems to have an identity.

“There are areas we need to get better and areas where we have made improvement,” Snyder said.  “It was not the same team as last week, but we still made some improvement.”

For its part, the K-State defense performed well.  The Wildcats held UTSA to a season low in total yardage.  Roadrunners quarterback Cordale Grundy was 14-23 for only 108 yards.  Though the Wildcats surrendered 17 points to UTSA, 14 of them came against the K-State second-string when the game was in-hand.

“There are areas we need to get better and areas where we have made improvement,” Snyder said. “It was not the same team as last week but we still made some improvement on the defensive side of the ball.”

Kicker Blake Lynch continued his impressive season, adding field goals of 33 yards and 44 yards.  Lynch, described by Snyder in the Summer as a “neat little guy,” has made 7 of 8 field goal attempts on the season.

Snyder said the defense must keep improving.

“We have to tackle better It’s pretty simple to say but it is a hard thing to do,” Snyder said. We got soft several times where they pushed the pile. We lost some containment and we let their quarterback scramble, which is always a nemesis.

K-State will seek to continue its improvement when it opens its conference schedule in Morgantown, West Virginia next Saturday against a nationally ranked West Virginia team.