Punt returns happen in wide-open space, but at Boise State the punt-return unit operates under the same philosophy as the offensive line.

"We're trying to physically dominate our opponent," special teams coach Jeff Choate said.

Usually, the Broncos do. They have blocked two punts, forced several shanked punts and returned two punts for touchdowns this season. They would have had several other long returns but players were flagged for manhandling their opponents a bit too zealously.

The Broncos have cleaned up those penalties in the past nine quarters, resulting in cornerback Kyle Wilson's two touchdown returns - a 71-yarder Nov. 1 at New Mexico State and a 79-yarder last Saturday at Idaho.

They'll try to make another game-changing play Saturday at Nevada (2:07 p.m. MST, KTVB).

"They're very aggressive," coach Chris Petersen said of his punt-return unit. "One of the things we tried to kind of clean up was being too aggressive. We've gotten some penalties there because when guys are taking guys to the ground, those refs are all eyes. If it's not picture perfect, they're throwing a flag. We had to tone some guys down."

Still, the Broncos have delivered some monster clean hits on punt return. Fullback Andy Silsby and defensive back Garcia Day won the Hammer for their blocks this season. Safety Ellis Powers, the Broncos' reigning special teams player of the year, knocked down three Idaho Vandals with one block on Wilson's touchdown last week.

"That's the (special team) that everybody tries to be on," Silsby said. "That's the one the majority of big hits come from."

Said Choate: "I guarantee people are looking around when they're covering kicks against us."

The Broncos have three priorities for their punt-return unit - prevent fakes, pressure the punter and try for a big return, in that order.

They've always been good against fakes because of their preparation and discipline.

They proved they could get after the punter earlier in the season when tailback Ian Johnson and wide receiver Jeremy Childs blocked punts and Johnson forced Oregon's punter into a 3-yard shank.

And now Wilson has blossomed into a fearsome return man with two touchdowns - and two near touchdowns wiped out by penalties -in the last four games.

The ability to block a kick or take it to the house puts opponents in a bind.

"We have a lot of swagger," Powers said. " You've got to stay in there (to protect) with a team that can block punts, and when you stay in there you kind of give up something on the coverage side, so we're able to break out and get big returns."

Wilson averages 11.5 yards per return, the best of any player in the WAC with more than 12 attempts. He and Louisiana Tech's Phillip Livas are the only players with two touchdown returns.

Broncos opponents are netting just 34.05 yards per punt. To put that figure in context, it would rank 77th in the nation in net punting if it were a single team.

The credit reaches far beyond Wilson and the punt rushers to blockers like tailback D.J. Harper, cornerback Brandyn Thompson, safety Jason Robinson, defensive end Byron Hout and Silsby.

"Everybody's just lighting their hair on fire," Wilson said. "It's not just one person scoring. It's all 11 on that return getting the satisfaction of getting into the end zone."

And the more success the unit has, the more intense its players get. Everyone on the unit raves about Wilson's "dynamic" return ability.

Wilson, who was a big-play wide receiver/running back in high school, is an aggressive runner who made a couple nice cuts on last week's return against Idaho.

"Having him take that one back at New Mexico State really got everyone on the whole entire unit just that much more hungry," Johnson said. "Everyone's doing their job just a little bit better. Even I had a decent block on the one he took back (against Idaho)."