SEC coaches around the country met with the media Wednesday during the SEC Teleconference to discuss their Week 4 matchups.
Here’s everything Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding had to say about Florida ahead of the Rebels’ matchup in Gainesville.
Opening Statement
“Excited about a great opportunity to go to Gainesville to play a really good football team. I think by far offensively is probably the most explosive offense that we’ve seen up to this point. A lot of respect for Coach Sumrall and what he does. I think Buster does an unbelievable job with the offense and a lot of familiarity with the defense having played him in Kentucky several times and kind of struggled with some of the things he’s presented in the past. So an elite running back, really talented on the perimeter, I think Philo is playing at a high level right now, really managing the offense really well. Well aware of how hard that place is to play. Obviously we went in there 2024, (No. 9) team in the country, and they were 5-5 and left with an L. So coming off of you know a good week versus LSU, our kids played extremely hard, but you get rewarded with going to The Swamp for a Top-25 matchup. So we’ve got to keep them focused in our preparation and get ready to play a good game.”
What are the characteristics of a Jon Sumrall team?
“The first thing you always see on tape in all three phases is the toughness and the physicality. Number two to me is the speed in which they play. They play extremely fast in all three phases. And I’ve always felt defensively they do a really good job of tackling. They fly around. This year it’s a different roster. So we can talk about Tulane, he had them ready to go, they had good plans in place, they didn’t have the same players that we had, and that’s the truth. Now he’s got a really, really talented roster. He’s got two coordinators that have been in this league at places that have had success vs. us. We’ve got a lot of respect for Sumrall and the job that he does. The first thing I see on tape is the toughness piece. I think they are very competitive. It looks like they enjoy playing with each other and for each other. They celebrate together, so he’s got them playing really well. I don’t think the Tulane piece of this will have anything to do with this game. It’s a different team, it’s different coaches. Obviously, he’s got some familiarity with our offense and playing Trinidad a couple times and all that, but it’s a different game. He’s got different pieces for this one.”
On Florida running the ball, how well do you think you’ve stopped the run:
“I think on paper, not very well. I think if you just break the film down by true run game, and not scrambles and all the other things that come with it, and some of the plus-one run stuff. I thought the front’s played pretty well this year on direct run and the run game, obviously, hand it to the back. I was super concerned going into Louisville. I thought they had an elite back going into Louisville. I thought we did a good job stopping him in the run game. Didn’t do a great job stopping the quarterback. I think Florida and Buster, the combination with Sumrall, they’re gonna come in and try to pound the rock. I think the running back is one of the best players in the country. He does a great job with contact balance and extending plays with breaking tackles. That’s something we haven’t done well on tape consistently. That’s getting guys on the game, especially on the perimeter, and play with leverage. It’s going to be a big piece to this. It’s a big challenge for our defense. We’re well aware they got really good runners. They do a good job up front, and Buster does a really, really good job formationally, and motions, and shifts. Gives you a lot of eye candy to confuse guys in order to run the football. We’ve definitely got to be physical up front. This game is going to come down to tackling on defense with great communication and eye control.”