‘Sometimes You Need to Lose’: Ole Miss Rebels' Defensive Lineman Tavius Robinson on Responding to Adversity
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebels were handed their first loss of the season this past Saturday at the hands of the LSU Tigers in Death Valley.
The Rebels were undefeated, sitting at 7-0 when they headed to Baton Rouge and 8-0 was already in their sights by the beginning of the second quarter. Ole Miss took a commanding 17-3 lead when senior kicker Jonathan Cruz connected on a 32-yard field goal with 14:58 seconds remaining in the first half. Then the wheels came off.
The Tigers quickly gained momentum and were only down 20-17 at halftime. They would proceed to shut out the Rebels’ offense and run straight through the Rebels’ defense tacking on another 28 points. The final score was 45-20 despite the Rebels dominating the first quarter by gaining 200 yards compared to the Tigers' 80.
The lack of offensive production in the second half was inexcusable, but the defense still continued to struggle against the run. Run defense has been an issue for this unit for several weeks now.
“Sometimes you need to lose to focus back in,” Robinson said. “When we focus on the fine details, we are really good.”
The Rebels’ defense has continued to make the same mistakes, but they are capable of performing at a high level.
“The response to our mistakes have been good,” Robinson said. “Watching the Kentucky film was a good thing to see because it is a level of play, we have to play at, and we know we can.”
While the defense still has to communicate better and refine their technique in order to reach their full potential, the atmosphere in Death Valley should have prepared them for next weekend's game in College Station versus the Texas A&M Aggies.
“Death Valley was packed, and the atmosphere definitely prepared us for College Station,” Robinson said.
The Rebels wrap up their road trip in College Station versus the Texas A&M Aggies this Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
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