When Wyoming opens its season Saturday at Florida, it won’t be lacking for ambition.
After posting a 7-5 record and winning the Las Vegas Bowl last season, the Cowboys want more. And in their opener, they want a measuring stick to see how much they’ve grown.
The 100 yards of “The Swamp” may be a bigger stick than they bargained for, but as far as Wyoming coach Joe Glenn is concerned, it’s as good a place as any to start.
“Everybody can’t stay home and play Cupcake State,” Glenn said. “Somebody’s got to go play Florida, but I’d rather be like Nebraska and play Maine at home.
“We need a measuring stick. We anticipate a very talented team. We anticipate a very well-coached team, and it makes it even more exciting in that Urban Meyer came from our league.”
Meyer, who made Utah the first non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl last season, is the new coach at Florida. Ambitions at Florida are a BCS bowl and national championship contender every year. That’s why the school dumped its old coach, Ron Zook, last season and hired Meyer, the hot young coaching prospect with the spread offense that is spreading throughout the college game.
Naturally, the prospect of Meyer working with all the talent Zook left has Glenn a bit leery.
“You know the one thing about him, even when he was at Utah, is that he’s always been pretty good with the element of surprise,” Glenn said. “He’s always been pretty cagey, so you can always expect a couple rabbits out of the hat.”
The Gators are led by Chris Leak, regarded among the top passers in the country. But in Meyer’s offense at Utah, quarterback Alex Smith ran a lot out of the shotgun option attack.
“If they’re running Urban’s offense, he’s going to run it,” Glenn said. “They make you cover the waterfront. You’ve got to be good on the perimeter, in the slot areas, off tackle, up the middle and even on some veer dives. It’s a pretty salty offense.”
What concerns Glenn most is that with all the speed Meyer has at wide receiver, the Gators will not just try to take advantage of some mismatches on the Cowboys’ linebackers. They’ll also try to go deep against the strength of Wyoming’s defense – cornerback Derrick Martin and safety John Wendling.
“John’s got to be the safety,” Glenn said. “He can’t let them have anything over our heads.”
Like Wyoming, which plans to rotate three freshmen at tailback, the Gators do not have an established running back.
But if the Cowboys are using Glenn’s offense, the Cowboys will throw it, especially with Corey Bramlet at quarterback.
“For them to come in here and run the ball all day, I don’t see that happening,” Meyer said. “Corey Bramlet may be the best quarterback we’ll face this season, and Jovon Bouknight is an SEC-caliber receiver.”
Meyer obviously knows a lot more about the Cowboys than Glenn knows about the Gators. What he may not know is how much confidence Glenn has in Wynel Seldon, the speedy redshirt freshman from Plano, Texas, and the two running backs who have been pushing him: Devin Moore, a redshirt freshman from Indianapolis, and this year’s prized freshman recruit, J.R. Moore of Midwest City, Okla.
“Wynel’s the guy,” Glenn said. “‘He’s been waiting for this, and I think he’s ready for his coming-out party. But I’m sure it will be a little more by committee than by one guy … and we’ve got our own John Wayne at quarterback.”
Some see Florida winning in a rout, but Glenn said: “In my opinion, it won’t happen. … They better not take us lightly.”
Footnote
Proceeds from Florida’s pay-per-view telecast, a total of $75,000, will be donated by the university to the Red Cross to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Staff writer Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
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WYOMING AT FLORIDA
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wyoming: The most important matchup will be how well the Cowboys’ secondary, featuring cornerback Derrick Martin and safety John Wendling, can hold up against the talented Florida passing attack.
Offensively, senior center Drew Severn, the only new starter on the Cowboys’ offensive line, will have his hands full trying to protect quarterback Corey Bramlet. The Cowboys also are counting on running back Wynel Seldon, a redshirt freshman, to balance the offense.
Florida: Quarterback Chris Leak threw for 3,197 yards and 29 touchdowns (12 interceptions) last season, but that was mostly as a pocket passer. The question is how he’ll hold up as a runner in Urban Meyer’s spread offense. Junior Chad Jackson is the Gators’ big-play wide receiver, having averaged a school-record 22.3 yards per catch last season. Sophomore middle linebacker Brandon Siler is a top defender.
KEY STAT
Wyoming was 1-4 on the road last year and needed three overtimes at UNLV for that lone victory.
KEY FOR WYOMING
How well the offensive line does against the Gators’ front seven. If it holds its own, Wyoming could score enough to make a game of it.
KEY FOR FLORIDA
How efficiently Leak and the new-look offense can execute in their first game under Meyer. The Gators have a clear advantage in speed and depth.
