Manhattan ? Ell Roberson started the season in a heady swirl of Heisman Trophy buzz and high expectations.

Now, the talk for Kansas State and its senior quarterback has turned to what went wrong.

“We’re not winning. You have to adjust a lot of things,” Roberson said. “Nothing’s changed — we’re still trying to work hard and get better every week — but we just have to get better at it.”

Roberson’s return from an injury to his left wrist was supposed to spark the Wildcats. But KSU has lost twice since his return, and Roberson committed costly turnovers in both close defeats.

Kansas State is on a three-game losing streak that dropped KSU out of the AP Top 25 poll.

The Wildcats, who were ranked as high as No. 6 before their slide began and No. 22 before last Saturday’s 38-34 loss to Oklahoma State, didn’t get a single vote in the latest poll. Roberson, hailed as a savior two weeks ago, is taking some of the heat for the tumble.

“It’s always a quarterback’s fault when you lose, and when you win everybody wants to put a quarterback up on Cloud Nine,” cornerback Cedrick Williams said. “I don’t think Ell has played that bad. Ask anyone coming off an injury — for a while, you’re not going to be who you were when you came off the field.”

Still, Roberson said he deserves a share of the blame.

“We’re not doing the things we need to do as an offensive unit, and the quarterback’s looked at first,” he said.

It isn’t that Roberson has played badly in the Wildcats’ Big 12 losses. Against Oklahoma State, Roberson set school records with 20 completions, 34 attempts and 332 yards passing and tied a school record with four touchdown passes.

But he also threw three interceptions, one of which the Cowboys’ Darrent Williams returned 63 yards for a touchdown.

The previous week against Texas, he ran for two touchdowns — but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble that started the Longhorns’ game-winning drive in their 24-20 victory.

“Is he a guy that tries to do more than he needs to on the field? In the last game, he may have,” coach Bill Snyder said.

Roberson blamed part of his struggles on rust after a three-week layoff.

“I’m trying to get a better feel for what I’m trying to do, not putting the receivers in bad situations with passes I throw,” he said. “I just need to take what the defense gives me and not look to the receivers to bail me out of bad situations.”

And while Roberson boasted before the Texas game that he wasn’t afraid of being hurt again, he acknowledged Tuesday he has been favoring the injured wrist.