Coming off a much-needed win and heading into a pivotal showdown at Texas, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding struck a confident but realistic tone Monday.
Golding praised the Longhorns’ talent on both sides of the ball, calling Steve Sarkisian one of the nation’s top play callers and dismissing any notion that quarterback Arch Manning is anything less than elite.
He also discussed the defensive improvements that have fueled Ole Miss’ recent success, the importance of depth as injuries pile up, and the challenge of maintaining consistency deep into SEC play.
The message was clear: the Rebels have improved, but their toughest test may still lie ahead.
Pete Golding, Head Coach
On the expansion of the College Football Playoff…
Golding: Yeah, I think once we’ve gone to the nine-game SEC model, it was going to be extremely hard if you did not expand it with the caliber of teams. Obviously, I think they were concerned about watering down the regular season. So I do think you’ll see some more openers at neutral sites versus the top three conferences, in my opinion. So I think it’ll be really healthy for college football.
On simplifying the defense following the Florida loss…
Golding: Yeah, I don’t know how much simpler it is. Like I told y’all, it wasn’t a new call. It wasn’t anything like that. I think the attention to detail changed a little bit. The focus, I think every week, like we talked about, is independent of its own. So every game plan doesn’t carry over based on what people do. But I think the focus of them obviously was a lot better. And then I think as a staff, by that point, you had more evidence of, hey, what are some things that we’re doing well? What are we not doing well that we need to eliminate? Not because it’s hard, we just don’t do it well. And we’re asking certain guys to maybe do things that they can’t. So there’s elimination of some of those things that we just haven’t executed well, regardless of how complex it was or not. Some of them were very simple. We’re just not very good at it. So I think that’s evaluated week in and week out. That’s never going to change. Every game plan is so different based on who’s available and what you’re going against. So I don’t know if that’s all the way correct in how that was explained to you guys. But I think the attention to detail and the focus on doing their job and quitting trying to press and do all the other things, I think you did see that.
On Texas’ offensive potential despite its inconsistency this season…
Golding: Yeah, obviously I spent a lot of time with Sark at Alabama. A lot of respect for him. I mean, he’s one of the best play callers in our country, and it’s not close. I think he does the best job designing plays to get his best players the ball in stride as well. I think what’s unique about this year to me is when you watch them on tape, they’ve had a lot of bad luck. I mean, there’s a lot of things. You actually watch the tape, hitting guys in stride, hits them in the chest, the ball bounces off, gets picked, all those types of things. So I think somehow it’s been lost that they beat the No. 1 team in the country. They were the No. 1 team in the country at some point, and they haven’t played perfect. But Arch is still an elite player. They’ve got elite skill and a really, really good coach. So we’re going to have our work cut out for us. I just think the consistency there that you talk about, sometimes it’s a lack of protection. Sometimes it’s a drop. Sometimes the defense makes a good play. But a lot of it, to me, has been bad luck, to be honest with you.
On Peter McStravick taking over kickoff duties from Lucas Carneiro…
Golding: Yeah, obviously that came post-Florida. Lucas, the foot’s kind of been an issue that we really didn’t realize going into Florida. So there was a little bit of an injury piece there that we wanted to pull back some and allow him to better focus on the field goal. That gave Peter some time, too. He’s got an extremely strong leg and has worked on his accuracy and his ball placement. So I think pulling that load off the foot and allowing Lucas to focus on the field goals and rehab and get healthy, and then Peter’s also really good at it. So I think it’s a good one-two combination right now that we’ll use moving forward.
On Arch Manning’s strengths and preparing for multiple Texas quarterbacks…
Golding: I think within the system, Sark runs his system and has been really effective everywhere he’s been. So I think regardless of who’s at quarterback, that’s not going to change much. Obviously, there’s packages in short yardage and certain field positions where you’ve got to be aware of certain things that he’s done in the past. But obviously, an elite arm talent who’s been in the system a long time. I think some people have shown him some different looks and taken away some first reads and been able to apply some pressure and all that. But the conception that he’s not an elite player right now is crazy to me. You can go watch, and I’ll get you a 25-play cut-up where he should be the top pick in the draft. And then there are other things that, up to this point, he’d probably like to have back, too. So we know what we’re going up against. I know the perception of what it is right there, right now, but I still think it’s an elite offense. I think Sark’s one of the best play callers in the country, and we’ve got to be ready to play because he’s got all the arm talent in the world. He’s a size-speed guy. He’s much more athletic than you think. He still has the ability to extend plays, and the guy’s won at a high level. You’re talking about a playoff team from two years ago, so they’re used to it. They know there’s high expectations. They know their backs are up against the wall, and we’re going to get their best shot.
On Texas’ defense and what makes the unit so effective…
Golding: Number one, I think when you watch them, obviously the players they have, they’ve got elite players. They’ve done a really good job from a recruiting standpoint in putting that defense together. I think it starts with the front. Really explosive up front, create a lot of pressure with four. I think Will’s done a really good job. It’s been obviously good to see that defense week in and week out. He’s been in this league a long time, understands what gives people issues. They’re really sound on the back end, mix up the coverages. But the ability to pressure the quarterback with four with some elite guys up front, I think has really played in their favor from a coverage standpoint to complement certain things. But I think they’re a really, really talented defense. Very, very good scheme, very multiple. That creates a lot of problems for offenses.
On maintaining consistency throughout an SEC season…
Golding: Yeah, number one is good players. Number two, I think stability in the system. And number three is the ability to hold them accountable. I think that’s the toughest piece sometimes, that third one, when they come off a really emotional win and the ability to refocus. They’re like, man, we’ve got to do it again. I think sometimes there’s a false confidence that’s created based on outcomes. We look at scoreboards and we won the game, but it really wasn’t based on our body of work and our preparation and the things that we did. We might have gotten lucky, or they dropped the ball or they didn’t complete it. So I think the focus goes back to your preparation and the habits that you create in order to give yourself your best shot. So that, to me, is a little bit of a motivation piece now as well. I think the further you go in the season, the body starts getting a little tired, the mind starts getting a little tired. How can you shorten some things from a timing standpoint, but be a little more efficient and have better energy doing it? So I think that’s always the week-to-week piece now, to me, at this point in the season. You want them to be fresh for game day, and we’ve got to be able to play fast and we’ve got to be able to execute. So there’s still a body of work that has to happen Monday through Friday, but we’ve got to be really smart and diligent about our meetings and our meeting times and our walkthroughs and how we practice to be able to keep these guys fresh physically and also mentally. And then there’s a fine line to me on building on confidence. There’s a lot from Saturday that we did really well that we’ve got to continue to do well, and they could have, should have developed some confidence by doing it. But that confidence came from their preparation and how they practiced, and they came out and made their layups. And so there are some other things on that tape that we’ve still got to clean up. So I think it’s building on playing well and knowing you’ve got to do it week in and week out while still looking in the mirror, all of us, players and coaches. There are some things that we’ve gotten away with that we’re about to play a really elite football team that we’re not going to get away with. And we’ve got to go to work on that this week to make sure we don’t put it on tape again. So I think a lot of it is the guys that are in that locker room and what do they really want it to look like? What really is their goal? What do they really want the legacy of this team to be? So I think we’ve got the right type of guys. We know we screwed this thing up early and kind of have our backs against the wall. And we’ve got to be at our best every Saturday to give ourselves our best shot at what our goal is.
On Texas’ running back duo and how the two complement each other…
Golding: Yeah, I think they’re very similar. I think they’re both really good football players. They’ve got really good balance and body control. They run behind their pads. I think they’re one-cut runners. They stick the foot and work vertically. A big part of their game is the stretch game, kind of stretch it horizontally to work you vertically. So I think they’re both good players. I know one of them is a little banged up right now, at least from what I’m reading right now, but they’re a really good one-two punch that would start at most places in the country. And that’s kind of always been Sark to me. They’ve got to get that run game going to set up the play-action pass and the passing game and all those types of things. So I fully anticipate seeing a lot of that, obviously, from a Saturday standpoint.
On building defensive confidence against Texas’ rushing attack and skill players…
Golding: Yeah, I think it’s no different than last week. If you can’t slow down the running game and create negative-yardage plays on base downs to get them in obvious passing downs, it becomes extremely hard. And now you’re putting guys in certain positions that are not advantageous for success. You’ve got to load the box to stop the run because they’ve been pounding on you, and now you’re one-on-one with a first-round draft pick, and you don’t like the matchup. So I think for us, we’ve got to stay ahead of the chains on defense, and that’s creating negative-yardage plays early and putting them in obvious passing downs so that we can protect certain guys and call certain things for certain players to be able to take them out of the game. So I think that’s been part of it as well. The last couple of games for them, on base downs, they’ve not been able to get that thing going to set up his play-action game and the passing game that he’s always been so good at. So that’s gap integrity up front. It’s going to be another game with a lot of 12 personnel, shifts, some motions, creating alternative pictures to try to create confusion on defense. So the communication piece is going to be really important. But the physicality up front, we’ve got to be violent up front. We’ve got to do a really good job on the perimeter setting edges. And then the second level has got to be erasers because these backs are good players. But you’re going to have to know where eight is. You’re going to have to know where one is. So they’ve got elite players all over the field. We’ve got to do a really good job changing it up. But you’ve got to be able to stop the run game with four guys and not have to pressure to do it all the time.
On the team’s injury situation and the importance of depth…
Golding: No. I mean, obviously this is why we recruit for depth and all those things. This season, this league, you’re going to get guys banged up. You better have good players behind them that are ready to go. I think it was a good example for a lot of our guys. Some of those guys that had to go in the game were dudes that do things right. They hadn’t had a lot of snaps up to this point, but they worked their butts off and they practiced extremely hard. And when they got in, they took advantage of their opportunity. We don’t know. They don’t know. We’ve got to come to work every day and prepare like you’re a starter because you don’t know when that opportunity is coming. But I think it shows, if you don’t recruit from a depth standpoint, when a couple of those guys get banged up, how much that can change. So I was really proud of the effort by a lot of them when they got in, but also them being prepared and doing it the right way. I thought our staff did a really good job with a lot of those guys that were prepared to go in. That’s not easy, keeping those guys engaged throughout the week not knowing if they’re going to play or not. That’s not easy. But I think it speaks to their character. I think we’ve got a lot of guys right now that want to do everything they can, for whatever role that is, to be able to win the football game. And I think there were a lot of examples of that on Saturday.
On managing Kewan Lacy’s injuries and his return to Texas…
Golding: Yeah, I think we’re in the middle of it right now. So I think every week is going to be pretty similar with him. You’ve got an experienced player that’s been in the system, so our responsibility throughout the week is making sure we’re protecting him and taking care of him. It’s not like he’s forgotten how to play football. So obviously the game plan is going to change a little bit week in and week out. There are some walkthroughs and individual and some technique things that we’ve got to improve that he’ll get. But as far as the physicality of having to run the football versus the scout team and all that, it’s not that. But there is a ball-security standpoint that we showed again last night, one of those balls that was on the ground, that you’ve still got to work in a really controlled environment so that we’re still putting him in those situations so that we can protect the football on Saturday. And the kid made a heck of a play, but still, to that point. So the management of it is going to be no different. I thought he fought through it. There was a little bit of a different injury on Saturday. He came back, put himself back in. He’s like, “Coach, I’m good.” So I think it was really good to see that in a situation that he didn’t have to. And that’s what I appreciate about him, that competitive character. He wants to play. So it’s going to be no different this week. We know this is a huge game for us, for our program. We know it’s a really tough place to play, especially for him being from Texas and hearing all that. And it’ll be an elite atmosphere there, obviously, at night as well. So I know he’ll be excited for it.
On Luke Ferrelli’s performance against Missouri and his development this season…
Golding: Yeah, I thought he’s really done a really good job, and Coach Shoup’s done a really good job with him in practice of focusing on the issues that we put on tape early, and pressing the football and staying inside-out, and the ability to finish on the ball carrier. So what I love for him is the things that he’s been working on really, really hard, they showed up on tape. And so I think that created some confidence for him because he was getting frustrated as well, because you keep on overrunning it. And they did a really good job of setting some things up for him. They showed, because athletic ability has never been the issue. A lot of that’s been from a technical standpoint of pressing the football and angles of staying inside-out. So I was really happy for him that his hard work paid off and he was able to be productive because he’s going to be a really good football player.
On Tah’j Butler’s consistency and his role in the linebacker rotation…
Golding: To me, Tah’j is Mr. Consistent, man. He’s been the same guy since he’s gotten here. He comes in, he works his butt off. He’s very detailed in his work. He’s tough, he’s competitive, he loves football, prepares his butt off and doesn’t bitch or complain about anything. Whether it’s 10 snaps or whether it’s 50 snaps, you’re going to get all he’s got. And so I think that’s improved. I think he’s very, very instinctive. I think he’s one of the heavier-handed guys in that room from a block-protection standpoint. So like I told y’all from the very beginning, we view him as a starter. Those three guys are in constant rotation. All of them, at some point, wear the green dot. They’re all interchangeable by the position they play. So he’s a heck of a player and a great dude.
On Blake Purchase’s emergence over the last two games…
Golding: No, I think it’s everything clicking. I think he’s the same type of dude that came in as a pro. He’d been in a really good program, a very similar system. Came in, hadn’t been a starter at another place. Wasn’t an every-down starter, but was part of their 3-4 package. So he really wanted to come in and make a name for himself as an every-down player. So I think he’s finally getting more comfortable within the system. I think you’re seeing him letting it loose a little bit, but I think he’s done a really good job on base downs, and it shows up in the pass game as well, rushing the passer. But I think he’s a really, really good player. I think he’s really comfortable right now. But he’s another guy that works his butt off, that sets the right example for all these young dudes. He’s got a really bright future. He’s going to play for a long time.
