There’s really no nice way to put this. The Ole Miss defense certainly appears to be in shambles right now. Anyone paying attention knew they were likely going to take a step back this season. However, so far, for much of the season, they’ve borderline surpassed expectations.
And then this weekend happened. In this past weekend’s narrow loss to Georgia, they were egregiously bad. So what went wrong against the Bulldogs, and how do the Rebels somehow fix the defensive problems before it’s too late?
What Has Happened to the Ole Miss Defense?
What Went Wrong Against Georgia?
The list would be too long to cover completely, so instead we’ll hit a few of the obvious problems. The first issue was the complete lack of pressure on Gunner Stockton. Regardless of whether they had three or four down linemen, Stockton simply had too much time to throw. Even against an average quarterback, which Stockton is somewhat above average, if you give them forever, they’ll be able to find open receivers. That’s exactly what happened in Athens on Saturday.
Secondly was the inability to stop the run. This has been a problem for the Rebels all season, and the Georgia matchup was no different. It was so bad that it got to the point where it looked like the Bulldogs would try things outside of a typical offensive scheme at times because they knew they’d still be able to pick up the first down on second or third down, primarily on the ground.
Third was the endless number of missed tackles. Ultimately, the scheme doesn’t matter if the players won’t make the tackles. On a variety of plays, Ole Miss had defenders in position to make plays. And time and time again, they failed to do so. The biggest of which was on a 4th and 1 for Georgia when Ole Miss was up by nine in the fourth quarter. A stop there, and the game is just about over. The Rebel defense had Josh McCray stopped behind the line of scrimmage. Instead, they allowed him to escape and sneak around the end to barely pick up the first down. This ended up being the major turning point in the game.
Who’s to Blame for the Defensive Failures?
Obviously, there’s a huge portion of the fanbase that puts the problems on defensive coordinator Pete Golding. And there’s certainly plenty of blame that falls on Golding. After all, coaches ultimately shoulder the failures of their team. This is no different.
But he certainly doesn’t hold all the blame. He isn’t the one on the field. The players are. And as was mentioned earlier, there were numerous instances on Saturday where the scheme itself worked, and Ole Miss had guys in position to make plays. But they virtually never found a way to make those plays. That aspect doesn’t fall on coaching. That falls on playmaking. That’s what has to change throughout the rest of the season. The coaching obviously has to improve, but the playmaking has to improve drastically, especially if the Rebels plan on making a run at the College Football Playoff.
Can Ole Miss Fix the Defensive Struggles?
Based on recent years, the answer should be yes. Last season, they had one of the best defenses in the country. And despite losing a ton of production, so far this season, they had played relatively well. That’s when the Georgia catastrophe happened. The good news is that most people expected Georgia to be the toughest game on the schedule. So things should get somewhat easier the rest of the way.
Unless the assumption is that Golding suddenly forgot how to coach, the belief should be that they get better. That doesn’t mean they’re going to be one of the best defenses in football. But the idea of going another full game without getting a single defensive stop seems far-fetched. This past weekend should prove to be a wake-up call to the Rebels, and they should be fine the rest of the way, especially against a slightly weaker schedule to close out the season.
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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