Pete Golding wasn’t ready to call Ole Miss’ performance perfect after Saturday’s 31-3 win over Missouri, but he had plenty to like.
The Rebels dominated the line of scrimmage, held the Tigers to just 39 rushing yards and kept them out of the end zone while continuing a defensive surge that has defined the last two weeks.
Golding also discussed Caleb Cunningham’s emergence, the next-man-up mentality created by injuries and why he believes Ole Miss still has room to improve despite one of its most complete wins of the season.
Here’s everything Golding said after Saturday’s victory.
Pete Golding, Head Coach
Opening statement…
First, happy birthday to our leader in charge here, Keith Carter. What number are we at? What number are we at? Yeah, he’s the man. But another unbelievable atmosphere, obviously. I thought the crowd showed up, fans showed up early. Thought our kids played extremely hard. I think it’s no different than every week. It wasn’t perfect. It really wasn’t. I think that’s the most exciting thing, that we still could play better football. But it was good to see some things that you emphasize in all three phases show up and guys play well. So I think Trinidad probably wishes he had a couple of those throws back. Had a couple too many drops. We still had some missed tackles on defense that created some explosive plays. But I thought they tightened it up in the low red, which was good to see, and were able to get off the field. So that’s a good football team, and we’ve got another good football team next week. So really happy for our guys. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, go to work tomorrow.
On holding Missouri to 39 rushing yards and how stopping the run changed the game…
Well, we talked about it earlier in the week, momentum of games. You’ve got to stop the run on early downs. When you have success early in games, they have to change what they do, and they lose confidence in certain plays and doing things. Then you get a couple-possession lead, and the game kind of changes. So I thought we did a good job early versus the stretch game and the run game. Thought we tackled better early, and they changed. I think naturally, guys, offensive coordinators don’t want to run the football. They want to throw the football. But if you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to make them throw it. So we did a really good job early. I thought our front played really well. I thought our defensive staff had a really good plan, did a good job holding these guys accountable throughout the week. But it still wasn’t perfect. Anytime you can hold that team to 39 rushing yards, you’ve got a shot. It allows you to be multiple in coverage and do some different things and try to confuse him and try to take No. 19 out of the game, which I felt like we were able to do for the most part.
On the defense’s success in the red zone despite allowing 339 passing yards…
Some guys made some critical plays. Again, I thought we stopped the run on first down, put them in second-and-long. They got a penalty on the other one, put them in third-and-long. So we got in some advantageous situations to be able to pressure, to simulate pressure. Like the last one was a simulated pressure, dropping out into the zone, and Landon made a heck of a pick. So when you can stop the run, you can have fun. Does that make sense? You can design things, and you have coverages and pressures and all those types of things. So I think that was the same thing, the run game, whether it was low red or open field. When you stop that on base downs, create negative-yardage plays like we did, then it can become fun for our guys.
On Caleb Cunningham’s performance against Missouri…
I’ve seen that for two years. We’ve been talking about that. He’s been on our scout field. Last year, I told you, I call him Moss. So I was glad to see us get in the red zone and throw him a fade. He’s really tough to cover. He’s got really strong hands. He’s a size-speed guy, and he’s going to get better every week. That kid has no idea how good he could be. He’s going to be a superstar.
On embracing former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons after the game and coaching against him…
Well, I said it earlier in the week, I’m super excited for the success that he’s had. That’s a kid that worked his butt off here, was an unbelievable dude, was a multi-sport player here, carried himself the right way. He’s got great character, and I mean, just got hurt and beat out by a better guy. Obviously, he’s up for the Heisman. So I’m happy when good things happen to good people. He went and took advantage of a great opportunity with Drink and Chip, and he’s been playing well. So I love going up and competing against him. I told him, “Keep your head up. You’re a great player. You’ve got a bright future, man. You’ve got to lead this team.” So he’ll be fine.
On the injuries to Kewan Lacy, Bryson and Will Echoles, and the importance of depth…
No, I don’t think anything’s permanent or anything like that. It feels like it’s every week now. We’re in a gauntlet now. We’re in the middle of the season. Guys are going to be banged up coming into it. So we’ve got to have the next guys on deck and ready to roll. I thought we were able to plug and play with the O-line and move Kutas over and not really miss a beat. The running back rotation has kind of been that way for a while now, so those other guys get a lot of those reps throughout the week. Corner, obviously, has been an issue with Edwin, so more of those guys had to step up and played good at times. Still put a lot of things on tape that we’ve got to correct. But in this league, you’ve got to do a great job in recruiting and have depth at positions. Guys have got to be able to play winning football because when it matters the most, that’s when you’re going to have to call on them. You get later in these years and you play good teams, you’re going to be banged up, and it’s going to be the next man up. So we’ve got to do the best we can with what we’ve got.
On the defense’s improvement over the past two games and holding Missouri without a touchdown…
I attribute it to their preparation last week and how they take coaching and how they prepare and how they practice. This group’s had ability. We’ve said it the entire time. But like in any week, you’ve got to focus and do things right. When you make mistakes, good teams take advantage of it. And it’s been [unclear] all year. This was never a point, I know, the world was ending for so many people, right? But we could watch the tape, and that’s really good football. Then we watch a series, that’s really bad football. We talked about there wasn’t consistency in performance. So the more consistent you become and start limiting some of those mental errors, then you limit some of those explosives. We talked about the rushing yards in the bye week, and 70% of our rushing yards were missed tackles. So if we tackle the guy with the ball, it’s a pretty important piece of football, and it kind of helps a little bit. So I think the emphasis on it has been good. I think the coaches have done a good job, but most importantly, the players are making plays. That’s why we sign them, and that’s why we’re paying them. So it was a good day.
On the running backs stepping up when Kewan Lacy has been unavailable…
Well, I think it’s more of the team for me. I think sometimes on other teams I’ve been on, when you have an elite player and he’s viewed as a superstar, when he’s not in, how it affects the morale and everything else. I think there’s been no lost confidence based on who’s at running back and all that. Obviously, do we love when five’s out there? Absolutely. But I think those other guys come in, they work their butts off. They’re really talented, and they’ve shown the ability to run the football. They’ve shown the ability to protect, and they’ve shown the ability to catch it out of the backfield. So it’s really good when you don’t have that drop-off, right, when Kewan is banged up and not in there. So Coach Wilson’s done a really good job with them. JDB and Joe do a really good job in the game plan. I appreciate those guys working extremely hard. I appreciate them coming here behind an elite back and knowing, “Hey, I’m going to work my butt off, but I’m going to get my opportunity.” I think they’re taking advantage of it.
On the importance of young players like Caleb Cunningham emerging and developing within the program…
I think it speaks volumes for our program, not just from a football standpoint, but from strength and conditioning and nutrition. You’ve seen these guys’ body types. Guys have been here two years, and the size, speed and starting to develop. Then the development at the position, getting technically sound every week, and then getting them incorporated in the offense, obviously by his preparation and how he’s practicing. So I think it’s a good thing. That’s my big thing. Stability and systems are important. You’ve got to recruit really good players. You’ve got to have stability in the system and good coaches. You’ve got to develop them, and guys stay. I think he’s a byproduct of that, and he’s got a really bright future.
On Kewan Lacy averaging 7.6 yards per carry while playing through injuries…
I mean, Kewan wants to play. He’s put a lot into this, and he’s super competitive. So I looked up, and I think it was the fourth. I’m like, “Dude, get Kewan’s ass out of the game. What are we doing?” But that’s him. He’s like, “Coach, put me in.” I’m like, “No, no, you’re coming out. We’re good. We’ve got this one.” So he’s working his butt off, and he’s been frustrated, obviously. He had high expectations for this year, and he’s played well when he’s been in there. But he’s fighting through it week in and week out, so he wants his opportunities out there. He’ll continue to get healthy. Pat does a really good job in there with him. Got a little banged up. It wasn’t the shoulder today. It was actually something else. But he fought through that, and they got him right at halftime, and he came back. So we’ll need him this week for sure.
On Jay Crawford’s performance in an expanded role and Connor Howes’ development on the offensive line…
I think it was good to get Jay Craw back out there these last couple weeks, but minimal snaps. This one obviously was a lot today. Another guy that we had extremely high expectations for in the offseason coming in. This guy’s been a two-year starter in this league. He’s been very productive. So it was unfortunate that he got banged up early, and we need him to be a really good player. I think he showed at times tonight the player that he can be. There are times from a technical standpoint that we’ve got to improve, which was good to get more reps and get that on tape because we’re going to need him. But he didn’t stick out, which is a good thing. There weren’t a lot of busts, weren’t a lot of critical errors. There are some technical things that we’ll get through and work through, but we need him to be a good player, and I think he showed up for us tonight. I think Connor’s done an outstanding job. I think Coach Garrison and Coach Metcalf have done an unbelievable job with him. That dude is tough as all get out, and he’s smart. The guys respect him around him, and I think he’s gotten better every week.
On Makhi Frazier’s 100-yard rushing performance and his development over the past few weeks…
I think he keeps his head down, and he comes to work. He’s like, “Hey, wherever I fit in the game plan, I’m going to be ready when that opportunity comes.” That’s what I’ve appreciated about him. Especially at that position, there’s one ball. He had a really good year last year and came in, and I think early it didn’t go the way he envisioned. Then he got his opportunity, and I think his mentality changed. I think his focus has been a lot better. I think he’s become more of a team player. That’s the best thing about that room. I think Frank’s done a really good job molding the mentality of that room. They pull for each other, and it’s fun to see. So he’s playing well.
On Landon’s interception late in the game and the defensive play design…
Yeah, so where No. 19 was, we’re dropping the five-technique to that side. It was a big part of how to double No. 19, whether at the second level, a backer or from the D-line. So we had a double A-gap pressure, and we were dropping the five-technique to the bunch side. They’ve got a lot of spacing concepts to get No. 19. So he did a great job getting to the window and made the play, man. Made the layup. So super happy for him.
