Patrick Kutas Says One Change Could Unlock Ole Miss' Offense

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss is leaning into the feelings it had walking off the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, following its blowout loss to Florida, in the midst of its bye week.

In Saturday’s postgame, first-year head coach Pete Golding mentioned how he wanted the Rebels to ‘sit’ in those feelings to fuel motivation and better preparation to prevent a similar outcome from happening again.

Though it’s difficult to constantly have the recent loss in mind, starting senior right guard Patrick Kutas believes it’s ‘necessary’ for the Rebels.

“It stings more, but Coach Golding — he’s putting in our head ‘don't forget that feeling’. Obviously that doesn’t define us, one loss early in the season. Coming off a loss into a bye week is a challenge, but nothing that we’re not ready for,” Kutas added. “Difficult, but necessary. It sucks, but again, you can’t forget that feeling. You can’t just wash it off. It’s going to sit with you until you play the next game just inevitably.”

Ole Miss’ top offensive lineman says the Rebels are practicing with a new fire lit.

“I think we’re just more pissed off that we lost,” Kutas said Tuesday. “Nobody likes that feeling, but emotionally we’re fine. It’s not like it’s something where the locker room is torn apart. If anything, it’s even lighting a fire under us. We’re totally fine.”

Starting Fast

Sep 26, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) throws against Florida — Sep 26, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) throws against the Florida Gators during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Looking at the box score, it’s easy to throw all the blame and attention on the Rebels’ defense that got picked apart against the Gators. Ole Miss gave up nearly 500 yards and over 50 points in a fourth quarter laugher.

However, the Rebels’ offense didn’t exactly look prolific in the first half either. After failing to cross the goal line in the first two quarters in Week 4, it marked the first time Ole Miss went without a touchdown in the first half since 2023.

It was reminiscent of the Rebels’ first half showing in Nashville against Louisville just three weeks earlier.

A faster start is paramount for the Ole Miss offense moving forward.

“I think whenever we get the opportunity to start with the ball, we just gotta start fast. We gotta start fast, gotta sustain it and then we gotta end fast,” Kutas explained. “I thought we were a little sluggish coming out in the first and second quarter. But if we can start fast we can be one of the best offenses in the country.”

Going into the season, Kutas’ position group had a fair amount of questions surrounding it. The interior didn’t have many since the Rebels were returning all three of their starters from 2025, but their tackles became brand new starters.

Through four games Ole Miss has surrendered four sacks and have contributed to the 470 rushing yards on 117 total carries (4.0 YPC) as a team. Kutas believes the Rebels are in a favorable spot up front and has reasons for that trajectory to continue upward.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Kutas assessed the offensive line. “Obviously there’s stuff you can do to improve every single day. You can find tweaks in your game on film. I think the longer that we play together and the more practices we get and the more reps we get, we’re just going to gel together even more than we are right now.”

What else does the senior protector do to approach bye weeks?

“Just get your body right, your mind right. Kind of get away from it a little bit, but also know that this is an opportunity to assess what you did well and what you did bad,” Kutas said. “Then put a little bit of focus into the next game too — get a little head start…It’s kind of like get real with yourself. Really look at yourself in the mirror, look at the tape, see what went wrong.”

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