Pete Golding used the open week to send a message to his defense: if you want the snaps, earn them.
After Florida ran for 302 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-28 win over Ole Miss, something had to change. Golding said the Rebels have also missed 62 tackles this season, resulting in 482 yards — roughly 70 percent of the rushing yardage Ole Miss has allowed.
So the open week became about more than fixing mistakes.
It became an evaluation.
“We try to change based on who we’re playing and who is playing well every week,” Golding said Monday.
Golding went back to the basics during the open date. At one point last Tuesday, Ole Miss practiced without making a defensive call.
Forget the scheme for a minute.
Line up. Get off a block. Run to the football. Tackle.
“I think that opened some eyes for some other guys and created some other opportunities,” Golding said.
Golding isn’t talking like a coach who already has his defensive rotation set. Players are competing throughout the week, and the guys who consistently execute are going to play.
“This thing isn’t set,” Golding said. “I told them it isn’t going to be set until Friday.”
The Rebels reinforced that message by returning to full pads and live tackling Sunday night. It isn’t normally how Golding wants to come out of an open week, but Ole Miss needed the physical work.
“You’re going to fight like you train, so you have to train like you fight,” Golding said.
Ole Miss isn’t trying to build a completely different defense before Vanderbilt.
The Rebels need to play the current one better.
Tackle better. Play with leverage. Get off blocks. Trust assignments. Finish plays.
And if the same mistakes continue showing up with the same players, Golding sounds willing to give somebody else an opportunity.
That doesn’t mean all of the blame falls on the players.
Golding has included himself and his defensive staff in the evaluation. If something isn’t working, the coaches have to teach it better, simplify it or find a better way to put players in position to succeed.
Now Ole Miss has to show those open-week corrections when they actually count.
Vanderbilt’s two-quarterback offense will test exactly what Ole Miss worked on during the open week — discipline, assignments and tackling.
Saturday will give Ole Miss its first chance to show that the Florida performance was a wake-up call rather than the start of a bigger problem.
It could also give us our first look at which players took advantage of the competition during the open week.
Ole Miss doesn’t need 11 new starters.
It needs 11 players Golding can trust.
The depth chart might say one thing. Golding’s message says another:
Earn it.
