LARAMIE, WYO. » Take a pick: the 7,220-foot elevation, the 21 mph winds or the low-20s temperature.

"You can’t breathe properly," Hawaii punter Scott Harding said of Laramie’s thin air. "And the wind just rips through you. And I have pretty bad asthma when it gets cold."

Despite all those factors, Harding put on a breath-taking performance as the Rainbow Warriors’ punter in the 59-56 overtime loss to Wyoming.

None of his seven punts was returned. What’s more, two bouncing punts were inadvertently touched by Wyoming players and recovered by the Warriors. This season, five of Harding’s rugby-style punts have resulted in turnovers.

"I think we did well," Harding said of his punt unit.

It was a battle within a battle for both teams’ punters. The Cowboys have claimed seniority in using the rugby-style technique, in which the punter rolls out before booting a line-drive kick that might pick up additional yards through bounces.

"They might have invented it," said Chris Demarest, who coaches UH’s special teams, "but we improved it."

With the top punter suspended for the first three games last year, Demarest decided to get creative. He asked Harding, a former Australian rules football player, to serve as punter. Harding was instructed to use the roll-out technique. Demarest and the other coaches soon learned that the right-handed Harding was an ambidextrous kicker. That enabled Harding to run to either side before kicking.

Harding has the leg strength to roll to his right hash and punt diagonally to the left side.

"The guy is a great weapon," Demarest said. "He knows what to do. We give him different formations to prepare."

For Harding, the strategy is simple.

"I take a quick look where a returner is, and try to kick away from him," he said.

On Saturday, he received an assist from linebacker Benny Fonua, who noticed the ball was bouncing near a Wyoming player.

"I tried to throw him down and get him to hit the ball," Fonua said.

The tactic worked, and UH safety Trayvon Henderson recovered.

Harding’s seven punts averaged 44.1 yards. The only two "returns" were the muffs. Harding’s five other punts were downed, with a 62-yarder coming to a halt at the 6.

This season, Harding has punted 53 times, with opponents average 0.75 yards per return. He has no touchbacks.

Although Laramie’s thin air would have boosted straight-away punts, Harding opted to stick with the rugby style.

"I didn’t want to change what we’re doing," Harding said.

Demarest said he will work on ways to add more options for Harding.

"At the end of the year, I’ll evaluate everything, and then I’ll see how I can improve it," Demarest said.

Harding, meanwhile, said he was disappointed there weren’t more adverse conditions on Saturday.

"I was looking forward to playing in some snow so I could take a story home," said Harding, who is an Australian citizen.