Pete Golding is locked in to get the Sugar Bowl to Oxford.
The Ole Miss head coach has mapped out a whole blueprint, which he shared with the media on Monday, on how he plans to take on Georgia.
Pete Golding's blueprint for Georgia
Here is what Golding said:
"You got to get them behind the sticks on early downs from a defensive standpoint. You can’t just bleed the entire time. Three, four, five, six, and you never get them off course. They have their whole playbook, regardless of down or distance. You’ve got to create some third and longs. And when you create third and long, you’ve got to get off the field. There was a critical one — two of them really in the first game, the third and 8 and then the low red zone that we had a coverage bus and they scored instead of holding them to a field goal."
"The very next drive, we get them third and 7 backed up and bringing the corner pressure. The corner doesn’t come and they run zone right into it and get a first down. When you do get them behind and you get to third and down, you’ve got to get off the field. There’s going to be some 50/50 balls that you’re going to have to contest. That’s the biggest thing versus these guys. You’ve got to contest every play."
Golding further mentioned how contesting plays while making some explosive plays of their own, and protecting the perimeter will also be some main focus points.
It is obvious that Golding has done his homework from their single regular-season loss.
Though he has just filled in the head coach shoes, he has managed to identify each thing that held the Rebels back against the Bulldogs back in October. Better yet, he has found a way to fix them.
Smart might have seen the game plan coming a mile away. What he should be concerned about is the unwavering energy the Rebs are bringing to the Sugar Bowl, to both prove itself after the Lane Kiffin drama, and of course get their revenge.
Now, it all boils down to how well Ole Miss actually executes to advance further down the bracket.