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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Oklahoma State Practice Report
12/28/2003 | Football
Dec. 28, 2003
IRVING, Texas - The No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys continued preparations for the 68th SBC Cotton Bowl Classic against No. 16 Ole MIss with a three-hour practice at Texas Stadium.
The full-pads workout was held under cloudy skies and had minimal hitting.
While the practice - which was the Cowboys' 12th in the last 15 days - featured extensive work against the scout teams, defensive coordinator Bill Clay knows he has his hands full with the Ole Miss passing attack but at the same time has to be concerned with the fact that the Rebels can get the job done on the ground - and that is what makes them dangerous in his eyes.
"An old coach at Oklahoma State who is a good friend of mine, Pat Jones, was visiting with me years ago and we were talking about some of the things that you do so you have a good football team," Clay said. "He made a statement that I have always remembered and that was 'The tough teams are the ones who can run it and know how to throw it.' That exemplifies Ole Miss' offense. They can run it and they know how to throw it."
Oklahoma State will be trying to stop a Rebel offense that has averaged 34.2 points per game and 431 yards of total offense per game, which rank 15th and 14th nationally, respectively.
The man who will lead the Oklahoma State defense is senior co-captain Greg Richmond.
The defensive end from Oklahoma City, Okla., was second in the Big 12 and ninth in the nation with 12.5 quarterback sacks. He also feels that Oklahoma State needs to take Ole Miss out of its rhythm early because of their patient signal caller, Heisman Trophy finalist Eli Manning.
"He is calm and collected in the pocket and can pick you apart so we will need to pressure him early," Richmond said.
Oklahoma State and Ole Miss are meeting for the first time in school history. Oklahoma State is making its 15th all-time bowl appearance and its second Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma State, then know as Oklahoma A&M, defeated TCU 34-0 in the 9th Cotton Bowl Classic.
Kickoff for the 68th SBC Cotton Bowl Classic is slated for 1:10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2. The game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports.