Pete Golding wasn’t interested in moral victories after Ole Miss’ comeback effort at Texas.
While the Rebels rallied from a three-possession deficit to make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter, Golding’s message afterward centered on the opportunities that slipped away early and the mistakes that proved costly against one of the SEC’s top teams.
Here’s everything the Ole Miss head coach said after Saturday night’s 34-27 loss in Austin.
Pete Golding, Head coach
Opening statement…
Golding: Yeah, obviously, hats off to Texas. Really good football team, really good players, well-coached. We didn’t start the game the way we would have liked to. Couldn’t really get anything going, couldn’t get in rhythm on offense. And then, from a defensive standpoint, a lot of ups and downs. Had some good series, and then didn’t leverage the football on the perimeter, which we’ve shown before, and had some missed tackles. Then gave up a couple of explosives in the passing game. So at halftime, we’re down three possessions, they’re getting the ball back, and we’ve got to get some spark plays. Let’s play one play at a time, one series at a time, and let’s make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. I was really proud of the effort and how they came out and fought. They did that. They ended up making it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter and had every opportunity to win the football game. That’s a really good football team on the road. That’s not easy. So I told them there’s a lot of good things we’re going to take from this, and there’s a lot of things that we put on tape that you can’t do versus good football teams, regardless of whether you’re on the road or at home. Love this group. Think they’re talented. Think they’re a good football team. But we’ve got to play better for 60 minutes.
On Texas getting its running game going again in the fourth quarter…
Golding: They found missed tackles. I mean, it’s no different. They’re going to watch the tape. I watched it on the sideline. I got the iPad right after it. Some of those things, they’ve got good players, too. But we’ve got a couple of missed tackles in the hole, and guys are on the ground at some critical points. So I wish I could tell you something different, but I can’t.
On evaluating Trinidad Chambliss’ performance…
Golding: Yeah, I mean, that’s a good football team, man. They’re really good on defense. We knew that going in. I thought Will did a really good job giving them a lot of different looks. Obviously, looking at his stats, it doesn’t look great. From a numbers standpoint, I haven’t evaluated the offensive side of the ball. I know he competed his butt off, and I know we’ve got a chance with the ball in his hand. We’ll evaluate that tomorrow. But obviously, it looks like, from a numbers standpoint, he would have liked to play better. But I don’t know what that looks like on tape. I don’t know from a pressure standpoint. I don’t know if we were running routes at the right depth. So I think a lot goes into that, but we had a chance to win it.
On the offensive line’s performance…
Golding: Yeah, I haven’t. I was so focused on the defensive side when the offense was out there. But I can’t give you a fair assessment of that.
On the decision to attempt a 58-yard field goal in the fourth quarter…
Golding: Obviously, from that standpoint, you’re not worried about it still being a touchdown game. You’re worried about, OK, if they go down and kick a field goal, it’s a two-possession game, which is what happened, right? Does that make sense? So what I was really kicking myself about almost is the decision before the half. It was still going to be three possessions regardless, but still, when you’re clawing back in games, points matter. We were at the 2 and said, “Hey, we’ve got a good two-point play. We like this. It’s as close as we’ve been. Let’s go take our shot.” So we did it, but that looks different as well. All those things add up. It was a four-down situation as long as it was seven or less. Then we went incomplete on third, trying to get half of it, and it was fourth-and-10. Didn’t like our chances on fourth-and-10, and we thought Lucas could make it. And with a little bit of safety for us, if we did give up a field goal like we did, it would still be a one-score game.
On Chambliss bouncing back from a difficult first half…
Golding: Yeah, I mean, I was proud of all of them. I thought they came out in the second half and competed their butt off, and it wasn’t perfect. But I thought we made some plays when we had to. A lot of guys at that point, I think, could have given up. To go down there and make the drive, kick the field goal, get the onside kick, and then still give yourself a chance at the end, they’ve got the competitive character. I don’t think everybody was on their best game tonight, all of us included. So I’m sure he wants some of those throws back, but I thought, for the most part, he competed his butt off.
On Kewan Lacy’s injury and his status…
Golding: Yeah, I’ve got to get an update on that. I would say I was on the field with him. He was in a lot of pain. Same shoulder, so hopefully we’ll get an update soon.
On what he told Lacy as he was leaving the field…
Golding: Told him I love him, man. Keep your head up. I told him we’re going to come back and we’re going to win this thing for us. That’s what I told him.
On whether Ole Miss still controls its own destiny…
Golding: 100%. I mean, there’s not an undefeated team left, obviously, in this league. So we control our own destiny, and we ain’t got anymore my bads. I mean, we said all that, and that’s what I said in the locker room. We ain’t got no days off anymore. That’s over. So it’s not easy week in and week out, but we’ve got the right group. We’ve got the right type of guys, and we’ve got good players. So we’re going to go to work and see what happens.
On the mood in the locker room after the loss…
Golding: Honestly, disappointed. I think you’ve got to look back and ask, did you do everything that you needed to do to give yourself your best shot? That’s players and coaches. I think all of us are going to look back when we watch the tape and wish we’d have done a couple of things differently. But there wasn’t this, “Woe is me, life’s over.” I told them, we control our own destiny. So we’ve got to go out, and we’ve got several really good teams we still have to play. All we’re concerned about tomorrow is us, and then we’ll move on to Auburn on Monday. It’s a good football team that obviously already beat Georgia, so we know it’s a tough slate. But I think it’s the right group.
On reminding the team at halftime that Texas had lost second-half leads this season…
Golding: Yeah, I mean, we talked about it earlier in the week. We go through everything and said, “Look, man, they’ve been up and lost. They’ve been down and come back and won.” And we said that at halftime. They’ve been up multiple possessions in this stadium and lost. They’ve been down multiple possessions in this stadium and won. So we knew if we went out and played good football that we could get back in it. That was the whole one play, one drive at a time. That’s all we can control, is our focus, our execution, our effort and our confidence. And I thought, for the most part, they did that. So we’ll go back and watch the tape and get it corrected.
