Pete Golding is staring at one of the trickier defensive prep jobs of the season this week, and it comes with Texas in a bad place and Arch Manning’s status suddenly part of the conversation.
A little more than two weeks ago, the Longhorns looked like the team to beat in the SEC and the national playoff race. Manning was carrying the spotlight as the quarterback prodigy tied to the greatest quarterback family tree, while Texas leaned on a defense that kept bailing out an offense with plenty of issues of its own.
Then the Cotton Bowl flipped the script. Oklahoma knocked Texas off, and Tate Sandell’s 47-yard game-winning field goal attempt sailed straight through the middle of the uprights, putting the Longhorns under a fresh wave of scrutiny. Since then, the big question has been whether the Red River Rivalry loss was just an outlier.
Florida’s recent run suggests the chaos in the SEC is real. The Gators came into Austin with a strange line on their resume: they had surged into the national conversation behind running back Jadan Baugh and a dominant showing against Ole Miss in The Swamp, then promptly got flattened at Missouri and followed that with a 38-19 loss to South Carolina at home.
That leaves Golding and Ole Miss with a puzzle. The Rebels are preparing for a Texas team that may not even look the same at quarterback by kickoff.
Manning has taken plenty of punishment behind an uneven offensive line, and the numbers back up the eye test. He has four games under 200 passing yards and has spent nearly as much time on the ground as he has standing upright. What started as a season built on expectation has turned into a stretch where Manning is looking more like the face of Texas’ problems than the answer to them.
If Texas goes in another direction, the focus shifts to KJ Lacey. The redshirt freshman from Saraland, Ala., and former 4-star prospect is a name that has carried buzz for a while, even if he has barely had a chance to show it in Austin. He has played in three games so far for Texas, including one as a true freshman last season, and this year he has completed seven of eight passes without a touchdown or an interception.
Lacey brings a different kind of threat. At just over 6 feet tall, he works more like Ole Miss Heisman candidate Trinidad Chambliss in that he can use movement and improvisation to escape pressure and extend plays. Steve Sarkisian has called him an “advanced playmaker”, and that’s the part of the scouting report Golding has to account for if Lacey is the one taking snaps.
Still, the Texas offensive line remains the same glaring problem no matter who is behind it. The Longhorns have allowed 30% pressure, which ranks as the 4th-worst pass-blocking unit in the SEC. That creates a tempting situation for a defense, but it also complicates the game plan when the quarterback picture is cloudy.
Ole Miss has already seen what a focused defensive outing can look like against a productive offense. Against Austin Simmons and Missouri, the Rebels controlled things on the way to a 31-3 win, and linebacker Luke Ferrelli picked up his first sack of the season in that game.
That is the challenge for Golding now: preparing for a Texas offense that may change shape, while still knowing the pass protection issues are going to be there. It is easier to plan for one quarterback’s habits than two, and that uncertainty gives Ole Miss more to sort through before heading to Austin.
Texas is backed into a corner, and Ole Miss is the last shot in front of the Longhorns before they try to steady themselves and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. For a Rebels defense that is starting to find its identity, this is a chance to deliver the knockout blow.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Catches A Huge Break In High Stakes Texas Showdown
Ole Miss got a significant early boost for its trip to Texas, with the Longhorns expected to be without standout defensive end Colin Simmons after he suffered a high ankle sprain against Florida. Simmons was ruled out for the rest of that game, and his status now figures to be evaluated week to week, a notable development for a matchup that already had plenty riding on it.
Simmons has been one of the most disruptive defenders in the country and leads the nation in sacks, so his absence changes the look of a Texas front that typically leans on him to set the tone. For Ole Miss, it removes one of the toughest individual problems on the schedule and adds another layer of intrigue to a game that was already shaping up as a high-stakes test. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Looks Ready For Much Bigger Games After Statement Win
Ole Miss spent Saturday looking every bit like a team built for the bigger stage, taking control early and never really letting Missouri get comfortable in a 31-3 win. The Rebels defense set the tone throughout the afternoon, keeping the Tigers away from their preferred answers and making the kind of steady, disciplined stops that can travel well when the schedule tightens up.
Pete Goldings group now heads into the heart of SEC play with some real momentum behind it, and his record against ranked opponents sits at 6-1 after another statement performance. The challenge for Ole Miss is obvious enough: this level of defensive sharpness has to hold when the opposition gets tougher, because the next stretch will say a lot about whether this was simply a strong showing or a preview of what the Rebels can sustain. [Read more 🡒]
Pete Golding Sends Ole Miss Fans A Warning About Arch Manning
Pete Golding spent part of the buildup to Ole Miss meeting with Texas pushing back on the easy take about Arch Manning. The Rebels defensive coordinator said the notion that Manning is not an elite player is crazy, a notable stance given the turnovers that have shadowed the quarterbacks season. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has already confirmed Manning will stay in the lineup against Ole Miss, which keeps the focus on how the Rebels plan to handle a passer Golding clearly still views as a major challenge.
Golding pointed to more than just the stat sheet, crediting Mannings athletic ability and past success while suggesting some of the struggles have been a matter of bad luck. For Ole Miss, that kind of warning matters because it comes from inside the opposing scouting report, not from a fan debate or a headline. If Manning settles in, the Rebels know they could be facing a quarterback Golding believes is far better than the public conversation has suggested. [Read more 🡒]