The 5-2 Ole Miss Rebels still have a lot to play for. The 2024 expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams let 2-loss teams in the SEC and Big 10 control their destinies for the first time. All Ole Miss has to do to make the playoff is win its remaining five games.
A 5-0 finish will not be easy. The Rebels still face third-ranked Georgia, a frisky Auburn team that beat Georgia on the road, a road trip to Norman, Okla., and the Egg Bowl. Coach Pete Golding must remind his team to focus on winning one game at a time, not on what they must do to make the playoffs.
How Will The Texas Loss Affect The Rebels Moving Forward?
A monstrosity of a first half led many people, including me, to question whether Ole Miss has what it takes to compete at a high level this year. Sure, the win over LSU was nice, and the Rebels looked like world-beaters against Missouri, but a listless performance on both sides of the ball, did little to encourage Ole Miss's postseason prospects.
Fortunately, the Rebels fired on all cylinders in the third quarter. They finally looked like the team they were in the previous two weeks. A defensive touchdown on the first drive of the second half ignited Ole Miss. They quickly erased a three touchdown deficit.
Even though the game ended in a loss, the third quarter demonstrates that Ole Miss can compete with the country's best teams when they play their best football. The problem for the Rebels so far this season is that they have not been able to sustain that level of play for four quarters.
Golding should encourage his team that, at their best, they are one of the best teams in the country. The first half against LSU, the Missouri game, and the third quarter against Texas all support that assertion. The level is not the issue here; it's consistency.
Golding needs to show his team that Saturday's disappointment is not a defining characteristic of the squad, but an area that needs improvement, just like rush defense was after Florida.
The Rest of The Season Will Say A Lot About Pete Golding's Program
The first loss of the season to Florida was widely regarded by the media as a letdown. Ole Miss came off a huge victory over their former coach and was not ready to take on a solid Florida team on the road. Pete Golding was reprimanded for his poor defensive coaching, but ultimately given a pass for the game.
The Rebels responded to the Florida loss with consecutive blowout victories, further fueling the "weird circumstance" narrative surrounding the contest.
Against Texas, Ole Miss demonstrated some of the same inadequacies it did against Florida. Now with a 5-2 record, Pete Golding faces a huge crossroads. If he can address some of the team's issues and ignite an end-of-season winning streak, he will make a serious case for being one of the best coaches in CFB.
If Golding is unable to turn around the inconsistent play, questions will resurface about whether he is a great coach or is benefiting from the players he inherited from previous coaches.
The response to this loss will reveal more about Golding's program than the loss itself. X's and O's can be fixed, but culture is much harder to change. We will learn a lot about the culture of the Ole Miss football program in the next three weeks.
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