Except for football coaches, things don’t change much down in Oxford, Miss. That’s probably why Ole Miss has always been Ole Miss.
So when Wyoming coach Joe Glenn fed a tape of the 2005 Rebels into his video machine this week in anticipation of Saturday’s rematch, they looked a lot like the team that provided his Cowboys with the boost of confidence that carried them to a Las Vegas Bowl victory last season.
Ed Orgeron, former defensive line coach and chief recruiter at Southern California, is the new coach, but Ole Miss is basically the same Ole Miss that Glenn saw last year.
“Oh, no,” said Glenn when asked if the Rebels had undergone any radical changes. “Some of the schemes are different and the philosophy is somewhat different, but they’ve got a lot of the same guys we saw last year. They’ve got a new coaching staff, so they’ve got a new spirit, but it’s still pretty much a lot of good athletes with a lot of speed.”
With Orgeron serving as his own defensive coordinator, the Rebels have had mixed results, defeating Memphis 10-6 in their opener and then losing 31-23 last week to undefeated Vanderbilt, the surprise of the Southeastern Conference.
Orgeron blamed himself for that one, saying he failed to find a way to harass Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on him and when we did pressure him, we didn’t cover the receivers,” Orgeron said. “I was really disappointed in the loss, but mostly disappointed in myself.”
Facing Cutler & Co. should have helped prepare the Rebels for Wyoming quarterback Corey Bramlet and Cowboys receiver Jovon Bouknight.
“They both have a wide-open offense, and their quarterback can throw the football (well),” Orgeron said. “They create mismatches out there.”
He added that Bouknight “is a really good receiver, an NFL player.”
The Rebels will be without two key players. Quarterback Micheal Spurlock broke the middle finger on his left (non-throwing) hand, and linebacker Patrick Willis suffered a broken finger and sprained a knee. Both players had surgery on their hands this week. Orgeron did not seem overly concerned about replacing them.
Robert Lane, who challenged Spurlock in fall camp, will start against the Cowboys, but Orgeron said Spurlock could be available. Freshman Robert Russell will replace Willis.
This will be Wyoming’s second road trip into the SEC this season, having lost the opener at Florida, but it’s one Glenn said he’s happy to make.
“I take my hat off to Ole Miss,” Glenn said. “They came out here to play us last year, and we owe them to go down there and play a game. We ended up going to a bowl game and winning a bowl game, and I think that victory gave us a bunch of confidence.”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
