Ole Miss’ first two games have made one thing plain: the secondary is the part of this team that still needs work.
The Rebels are 2-0 and already own a ranked win at a neutral site, but the coverage busts have kept stealing the spotlight. Against Charlotte in Week 2, just as in the opener against Louisville, Ole Miss allowed too many explosive plays because of blown assignments and missed coverages. The issue got so loud that players in the defensive backfield were wearing playsheet wristbands to help with the mental side of things.
Pete Golding said Saturday night that the staff is going to keep mixing and matching until the back end settles down, especially at safety. Ole Miss used nine defensive backs in the win in Oxford, and Golding made it clear that the search for the right group is still ongoing.
“I think at times. Holding people scoreless in the first half is tough versus anybody.
Eliminating the explosive plays - we had (surrendered) 12 explosive plays last week for 340 yards. I mean it’s hard to beat anybody that way and to beat a top-25 team, like that’s tough, you’re flirting with things (losses),” Golding said Saturday night.
“I thought we minimized them a little bit. I was super disappointed on the same play recurring and you feel like you get on the sideline and you emphasize it, something emphasized all week.
The attention to detail and the eye control and it being multiple people is the problem, so we’ve gotta learn from other guys’ mistakes. Mentioned this several times - everybody doesn’t get a ‘my bad’.
When we see it on tape and we correct it, we gotta be able to fix it. We’re going to continue to rotate guys and continue to find five in the backend that do shit right, because right now we don’t have five.”
Ole Miss has also been dealing with injuries in the secondary. Planned starter Sharif Denson has not played yet, while returning cornerback Antonio Kite was limited in Week 1 after getting hurt and also has not been a steady presence over the first two games.
Golding did not want to use that as a cover for the problems the Rebels have shown in coverage. He said the defense built depth at defensive back for exactly this kind of situation, and the players on the field still have to line up correctly and handle their keys.
“Obviously we came into it - they were two starters all of fall camp, but I’m not going to sit here and give them an excuse because it can’t be,” Golding explained. “That’s the one thing that we went out and got a lot of DBs to create depth and need rotational pieces, so it’s not an excuse whether you run out there first or second.
You got to know where to line up and know who to look at. What’s your primary key and secondary key?
You got to your job and you got to do it consistently.
It’s definitely not a scapegoat obviously. Does it make a difference?
Yeah. Some guys are moving at different spots and we can’t put these two beside each other - do we gotta put somebody else between them?
There’s a lot going on with it, but I felt like with this game plan being very simple, I was hoping to see a bigger improvement. That’s something we’re going to have to go to work on.”
Denson’s injury came in the days before the opener, and Golding said there is at least some good news on that front for next week. He said Denson is expected to play, while Kite’s return remains uncertain heading into the Week 3 matchup.
“I think Sharif for sure will play this week,” Golding said. “It was one we were hopeful for this game, at least some.
There was a decision made on Wednesday, let’s make sure we can have him for next Tuesday. We went ahead and had an injection on Wednesday to make sure that he would be ready to go for next week.
Kite’s situation is hopeful for this week. I think we probably won’t know until towards the end of the week.”
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The broader conversation around the game, though, started before kickoff, when a pregame tailgate scene involving a physical altercation between two women was captured and spread across social media. It was the sort of viral moment that had little to do with the scoreboard but plenty to do with the atmosphere surrounding a high-profile home opener, giving fans one more thing to talk about after a dominant start to the season. [Read more 🡒]