No. 9 Ole Miss held its second preseason scrimmage last weekend. Just like the first scrimmage, it was closed to the public and media.
One difference is we got to hear about the scrimmage from the Rebels’ head coach himself.
“It has been really flashy,” first-year coach Pete Golding said. “In the two team meetings we’ve had after those scrimmages, there are enough things you can see on tape where you say, ‘Man, that’s it. That’s winning football. You can win a lot of football games doing that.’ But then with the same unit, same player and same call, you see something and say, ‘That’s not it.’”
That’s the theme of camp so far. Ole Miss has shown plenty of moments that look like a top 10 team preparing for a big season. It has also shown moments that remind Golding and his staff how much work is left before Louisville.
The good news for the Rebels is that they still have time. This hybrid week is built for cleaning things up, and next week is when the staff starts locking in the pieces.
Golding didn’t sugarcoat the evaluation.
“The ups and downs in all three phases are really what we’re focusing on this week,” Golding said. “These guys have to get to the point where they understand everybody doesn’t get a ‘my bad.’ That’s kind of what it has been up to this point.”
Consistency is the priority. Ole Miss has shown it in stretches, but not enough for Golding to feel comfortable with where things stand.
“The consistency is something we really have to focus on,” Golding said at his weekly Monday morning press conference.
He also reminded everyone of a simple truth about the SEC.
“I’ve mentioned this before: More games are lost in this league than won,” he said.
That’s why the details matter. Golding said the scrimmage tape showed drives extended or stopped because of avoidable mistakes. Penalties that weren’t aggressive. Busts that shouldn’t happen. Those are the things that swing games during the season.
“When you go through these drives from the two scrimmages, a drive was either extended because of a non-aggressive penalty or a bust, or a drive was stopped because of a non-aggressive penalty or a bust. That’s not winning football,” Golding said. “The key this week is cleaning those things up.”
Situational football is another focus. Golding pointed out that players need to understand when a negative play is unacceptable, especially in scoring range. That’s not just on the players. It’s on the staff to teach it and reinforce it.
“From a situational standpoint, we also have to get smarter in certain situations, and the coaching staff has to do a better job of making sure they understand things like, ‘We can’t take a negative-yardage play here. We’re in field-goal range,’” Golding said. “Those are things that come up in games that we’re trying to simulate in practice.”
This hybrid week is the bridge between camp and game prep. It’s where the Rebels try to tighten the loose ends before the calendar flips to Louisville.
The takeaway is simple. Ole Miss has looked good in stretches. It has looked sloppy in others. Golding sees both sides clearly, and he sees enough time to fix what needs fixing. The flashes are there. The foundation is there. Now it’s about smoothing out the edges before the season starts.
The Rebels don’t need to be perfect today. They need to be cleaner tomorrow. And Golding believes they can get there.
