LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming will face the first-place team in the Mountain West Conference on Saturday without its best offensive player.
Junior running back Devin Moore missed the first two days of practice this week with a sore left knee. And he isn’t expected to play Saturday when the Cowboys (5-5 overall, 2-4 MWC) host Brigham Young (7-2, 5-0) at noon at War Memorial Stadium.
Moore is Wyoming’s leading rusher with 874 yards and in all-purpose yards at 121 per game.
Moore has had a sore knee since late September. Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said there is no structural damage, but there has been swelling. Glenn is hopeful Moore will play but he has been told by trainer Robb Williams that he won’t.
“I’ve been nudging Robb (to get him to play) if he feels good on Saturday,” Glenn said. “But Robb has told me he is not going to play, and it’s his call.
“Robb knows what he’s doing, and (Moore) is not going to play games. But that’s not going to stop me from lighting a candle at church.”
Moore did a few agility drills during Wednesday’s practice in the indoor facility. But he was not in pads and didn’t take part in any team drills.
Junior Wynel Seldon will start if Moore can’t play. Seldon is UW’s second-leading rusher with 499 yards and has a team-best five rushing touchdowns.
He is only 20 yards shy of becoming the ninth running back in school history to run for 2,000 yards.
“We’re going to keep things normal, but I’m counting on Devin to play,” Seldon said. “We need to step up the intensity on offense and be more physical in the run game.”
Glenn said he doesn’t expect Seldon to get all the carries in Moore’s absence. Redshirt freshman Darius Terry will back him up. In eight games this season, Terry has one carry for minus-1 yard.
“We have a lot of faith in Darius Terry,” Glenn said. “He’s about 203 pounds, he’s got pretty good speed and really good toughness. He’s ready, and he will help us.”
Number changes. The defensive linemen and defensive secondary swapped practice jerseys this week.
“We’re just trying to have a little fun,” said senior cornerback Michael Medina, who wore sophomore defensive tackle John Fletcher’s No. 91. “It seems like we’re a little down after last week’s game, and we’re trying to bring up the morale of the team and come out and have a little fun.
“That’s what it’s all about. If you can’t have fun (playing football), why do it?”
