Asked if quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels took a step backward on Saturday, Wyoming football coach Dave Christensen showed he's maintaining his sense of humor.

"He took a lot of steps back," UW's first-year coach quipped. "He was being chased."

Jokes aside, the Cowboys continued to see progress from their young signal-caller -- even in a 52-0 drubbing.

UW endured its third consecutive loss and its quarterback has caught more touchdown passes than he's thrown over that span, but Christensen is pleased with the true freshman's play.

"I think Austyn's doing a good job still," Christensen said. "The last three teams that we played were pretty good football teams. Two of them were ranked in the top 25, and the other one is the No. 1 defense in our league. It's not like we've played some just average football teams.

"We've had our struggles ... but I think Austyn's making progress throughout."

Carta-Samuels completed 14 of 23 passes for just over 100 yards and threw one interception against the Cougars.

He's thrown for just 305 yards in the Pokes' last three games.

More eye-opening is that, after producing more than 800 yards of total offense in three consecutive victories prior to the drought, he's been limited to just 307 yards during the losing streak, rushing for just two yards in his last three games after gaining more than 200 in his first six.

While the UW coaching staff chose to not show film of Saturday's rout to its players, Carta-Samuels took a look at it on his own.

"It was a rough week," Carta-Samuels said. "I went and watched film, and I still saw me maturing a lot and doing a lot of good things that I would not have done before. All the times that I left the pocket -- because I made a conscious effort to stay in there -- there was pressure, so I fixed that part a lot. I was going through full read progressions."

He saw the same thing he's seen in nearly every week since taking over the starting role in Week 4 -- progress.

"I honestly think that every game, for me, was a step forward," Carta-Samuels said. "Air Force, I struggled a lot so that one I could say I took a step back, but Utah I made a bunch of good progressions, and this week I made progressions as well.

"I'm not too disappointed with my performance."

Struggles up front with the offensive line certainly haven't helped his cause or his rushing statistics.

The front five has allowed 14 sacks in their last three games, and Carta-Samuels has paid the price on 13 of them.

He's actually gained more than 100 yards on the ground during the losing streak, but the sacks have negated nearly all of that production.

"Obviously, we're not hitting on all cylinders, but he's definitely seeing more," UW offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. "He's understanding what we're trying to do. He's calmer at certain times and he's getting reps. We've just got to keep him healthy."

Carta-Samuels has avoided injury thus far.

And despite recent struggles for the Cowboys, his freshman season is still no joke.

Contact Laramie-based UW 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 practice for its most pivotal game of the season.

NO SLOUCH: The Cowboys have lost three straight games and their offense has stalled, but UW's coaches are still seeing progression from freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels.

HE SAID IT: "I honestly think that every game, for me, was a step forward." -- Carta-Samuels.

SATURDAY: Wyoming at San Diego State, 8 p.m., Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif., on the mtn.