LARAMIE -- They might have been the biggest hits Austin McCoy has endured all season.

And they were coming from his own teammates.

Wyoming's punter had just boomed a 57-yard kick that was downed inside Utah's own five-yard line and McCoy knew that he had to follow through on a pre-arranged argreement.

"It was actually kind of funny because me and my roommate were joking on the sideline that if we did something big, we'd have to go off and go crazy celebrating," McCoy said. "And that's what we did."

"I was just hitting everybody, getting hit in the helmet, chest-bumping. I never really get a chance to do those, so whenever I get the chance, I do it as much as I can."

Saturday's punt wasn't his longest of the season, but considering the opponent and game situation, the punt was arguably his best.

UW was clinging to a 3-3 tie when McCoy dropped his kick at the Utes' three-yard line and it went out of bounds.

"That was a great punt," UW defensive lineman Alex Stover said. "There's no doubt that changing field position takes a lot of pressure off the defense. We can pin them down and get the ball back for our offense."

The Utes couldn't get past their 10-yard line and were forced to punt the ball back to the Cowboys.

Two plays later, including one trick play, UW was in the end zone and had regained the lead.

"[McCoy's] done a remarkable job," UW coach Dave Christensen said. "We netted 40-something yards last week and our goal was 37. [Despite] our struggles offensively, because of our punt team we've been able to win the battle of field position and force people to have to go a long way to score."

Thanks to the big kick, McCoy averaged 44 yards per punt and the Pokes' coverage team allowed just seven punt return yards all night.

Those numbers are even more impressive considering McCoy is using a rugby-style kick on more than half of his punts -- a type of kick he had never used until UW's new coaching staff asked him to give it a try in spring camp.

"This is the first year I've ever done it," McCoy said. "The spring was the first time I've done it. It works good. Sometimes we don't get the bounce that we want, sometimes it goes the wrong way. It's just kind of a 50-50 thing."

The sophomore says he's still more comfortable with his natural style of punting, but is much more comfortable with the rugby kick -- in which he rolls to his right and boots a ball designed to bounce in front of a returner, either going over his head or otherwise limiting any return yards.

"We don't want to have the same thing over and over and over," Christensen said. "We just try to change it up to keep [opponents] off balance."

The Pokes rank third in the Mountain West Conference and are tied for 24th nationally, averaging 38.7 net yards per punt.

And considering only seven other punters have as many punts as McCoy, he's got reason to celebrate.

"I feel pretty good about how my progress is coming along," he said. "Every day we're making strides to get better and one day we'll put it all together as a team."

Contact sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at eric.schmoldt@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/ESchmoldt/blog

COWBOYS TRACKER

TUESDAY: The Wyoming football team continued practicing for its second consecutive matchup with a ranked opponent.

KICK START: Cowboys sophomore punter Austin McCoy averaged 44 yards per punt in a loss to Utah thanks to a 57-yard boot that went out of bounds at the three-yard line.

HE SAID IT: "[Despite] our struggles offensively, because of our punt team we've been able to win the battle of field position and force people to have to go a long way to score." -- UW coach Dave Christensen.

SATURDAY: No. 25 BYU at Wyoming, noon, War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, on the mtn.