Pete Golding is Giving Ole Miss a Tougher Identity and Fans Are Noticing

The Ole Miss Rebels are fortunate to have Pete Golding as their head coach. He's quickly won over the fans and has already delivered big-time wins.

The Rebels are one of the best teams in college football under Golding. This week, they'll host the Missouri Tigers in a highly anticipated matchup.

Ole Miss is 4-1, but Golding and Ole Miss aren't satisfied.

Golding Expects a Physical Standard

Mississippi Rebels head coach Pete Golding. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

During the bye week, Golding emphasized effort to his team and that was apparent in the Rebels' 52-17 win over Vanderbilt.

"We put a lot of things on tape that we had to correct and clean up. I thought it wasn’t perfect. I told them coming into it, it’s not going to be perfect. Doesn’t need to be perfect. But I thought there was an emphasis on the effort," Golding said after the game. "I thought there was an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, of leveraging the football, being a little more violent on contact. Wasn’t perfect. Still had some missed tackles, still had some lost leverages. But that’s that’s week in and week out."

The defense has been disappointing this year. Florida outmatched them, and Louisville and LSU gashed them. Defense is Golding's speciality, so it was surprising to see a lackluster effort through the first four games.

However, the effort was much better on Saturday. The defense forced four turnovers, but Golding is still looking for improvement.

"They turned the ball over some and it was tipped and they fumbled it. And we were opportunistic in that. But there’s still the actual takeaway component of driving on the ball, matching the angle, snapping the eyes and undercutting the route. Like we’re dropping those right there or we’re a step late right now based on the eyes," Golding said on Monday. "So that’s something when you play better teams that aren’t going to give you the football, like you got to go take it away. And I think that’s something on defense that we have to improve at."

Golding's coaching philosophy is easy to get behind. He's assembled a talented roster, and the concepts will eventually click. Many questioned Golding's ability to pick up where Ole Miss left off, but so far the Rebels look formidable.

The season is far from over, but Golding is clearly moving the program in the right direction, and the fans are noticing.

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