A 23 1/2 -point underdog, the Cowboys knew they needed a quick start against the Utes, but it didn't happen.

On the second play of Wyoming's second possession, quarterback Karsten Sween rolled out and tried to lob the ball over the head of defensive end Paul Kruger, who was quickly closing on him.

Kruger got his fingertip on the ball, which popped into the air. Smith beat Wyoming tight end Jesson Salyards to the ball, intercepting at the 25-yard line and easily scoring a touchdown.

"Paul Kruger jumped and he tipped it and, luckily, it went right to me," said Smith. "It felt good to score. It has been a long time. It brought back memories."

The interception was Smith's first of the game, second this season and sixth of his career. He later intercepted Sween again in the second half.

"It was real big to put points on the board," Smith said. "[But] that's my job."

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who watched his team score first for only the third time in its seven games this season, agreed.

"That was huge," Whittingham said. "It set the tone right there. Sean had a couple of nice plays today."

Smith's score stunned the wind-blown crowd of 17,123 because Wyoming fans saw almost the same thing happen last week at New Mexico. Against the Lobos, a Sween interception was returned for a touchdown on the Cowboys' first play from scrimmage.

"I don't understand why that keeps happening," Sween said. "I was like, 'I'm not going to play conservatively. We have an opportunity to play against a big team - No. [14] in the nation - and we need to go out and win.' But I'm at the end of my rope."

Recalling the play, Sween said, "It was a naked play. A boot play. So we play action and I roll around. [Kruger] is just a real tall guy and he came at me, so I thought it would open up some room to the tight end. I threw it and he tipped it a little with his hand and it popped up and the corner picked it."

Cowboy coach Joe Glenn, whose team has committed 27 turnovers this season, called Sween's throw "a poor choice" that put his team in an early hole - something it desperately needed to avoid.

"You can't get behind a good team early; the plan was to stay close and make safe plays," Glenn said. ". . . It was a bootleg and, if nobody's there, don't try to force it in. Karsten's old enough to know you can't try to fit something in where you can't fit it in."

Except that's what happened.

luhm@sltrib.com

Utah cornerback's Sean Smith's season statistics through seven games:

Solo tackles: 9

Assisted tackles: 13

Total tackles: 22

Interceptions: 3

Pass breakups: 4

Touchdowns: 1