Kicking is all about muscle memory and Colorado Buffalo punter Matt DiLallo's muscles went blank for a split-second against the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.

The lapse proved costly.

With the Buffs trailing 33-20 late in the third quarter at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, DiLallo dropped the ball, picked it up and had his punt blocked. The Wildcats returned the gaffe for a touchdown to make it a three-touchdown game and firmly entrench the momentum on KSU's side.

"I wasn't really focused enough," DiLallo said. "I caught the snap, but when I put it out on the drop table it kind of slipped out (of my hands)."

DiLallo had a high snap slip through his hands last season against Missouri to set up a Tiger score.

"It brought back some tough memories but you just learn from those things, and I know I can bounce back and move on," the sophomore from Wellington, Fla., said.

He's done so this week by fine-tuning his routine.

One thing DiLallo and special teams coach Kent Riddle noticed that may have helped lead to Saturday's drop was the way the punter was catching the ball. Somewhere between the first game of the season and the Kansas State game, DiLallo said, he began "grasping (the ball) instead of catching it." Rather than catching the ball with his hands side-by-side out in front of him he was catching it with one hand on top of the other and in closer to his body, which altered the rest of his routine.

He's gone to work on the JUGS machine this week, catching ball after ball with his hands in the correct position to try and retrain his muscles.

"Once he's confident with that he can just cut it loose and not even have to think about that stuff," Riddle said. "That's the great thing about Matt. He's very conscientious. He takes it seriously. It's not like, 'Oh shoot, bad luck.' That hurts him and he works his butt off to fix the problem."

The mistake at KSU put a bit of a fog over what's been a mostly successful season for DiLallo.

His average is down a little from last season — 43.7 yards per punt to 41.4. But part of that is due to the fact that he's been punting from a little better field position this year, leaving him with less room to boom the ball. He's put 13 of his 30 attempts this season inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He's also had four punts of 50 yards or more.

Riddle said differing game situations sometimes dictate to DiLallo what he has to do with the ball, such as trying for more hang time rather than distance when faced with dangerous return men like Kansas State featured last week.

"We're looking at where we put them, where are they going to have to start their drive," Riddle said. "That's more important to us than just the numbers."

Cornerback hotbed

Two of the best players on the field Saturday when the Buffs and Kansas meet will not only line up at the same position but also hail from the same hometown.

CU's Terrence Wheatley and KU's Aqib Talib — two of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12 Conference — are both from Richardson, Texas, and played against each other in high school.

Talib is tied for the Big 12 lead in interceptions with three, one of which he returned 100 yards for a touchdown. He had two interceptions against the Buffs last season. He also has seven catches for 174 yards and four touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball.

Wheatley, who has two interceptions on the season and was voted first-team All-Big 12 with Talib by the league's coaches last season, said this week that he remembered playing Talib in high school but didn't have any kind of rivalry with the Jayhawk.

Talib is a preseason All-American and a candidate for several awards.

"We think he is probably the best (athlete we've faced)," CU head coach Dan Hawkins said. "We thought he was pretty good last year and we think he is better this year if that is doable.

"When game-planning for Kansas, you have to be concerned about him but you can't let one guy cancel out one whole side of your passing game. So you just have to do a good job of throwing the ball and getting open on his side."

Mutual respect

While plenty has been made of the formidable defensive unit the Jayhawks put on the field, KU coach Mark Mangino certainly admires the Buffalo defense as well.

"Their defense is outstanding," Mangino said this week. "I really think they have some of the most talented defensive players in the conference. They have a couple guys that really jump out at you on the defensive side of the ball. Jordon Dizon and Brad Jones at linebacker are outstanding players. Their defensive line is very big, physical and quick."

Mmmm ... that's good

And finally, a little chicken soup for the Buffalo football fan's soul:

CU's two biggest rivals both checked into ESPN.com's Bottom 10 rankings of the worst teams in college football this week.

Winless Colorado State has "climbed" to No. 3 on the list, while Nebraska joined the list this week at No. 5, the spot reserved each week for stumbling powers — or stumbling former powers.