Ole Miss' College Football Playoff loss to Miami can be boiled down to many different key points, but Pete Golding believes it was two specific plays that cost his team its season.
Throughout the week, Golding's coaching staff did its best to prepare the Rebels for the physicality that Miami's offensive and defensive lines bring up front. They still wound up losing that battle, but that is not what the head coach believes cost his team the game.
Instead, Golding believes Malachi Toney's 36-yard touchdown rumble off a screen pass and Carson Beck's game-winning three-yard scramble were the deciding factors.
“We knew coming in it was going to be challenging up front,” Golding said, via Brad Logan of On3 Sports. “That didn't lose us the game. The two explosive plays lost us the game. The scramble and the screen did.”
Both plays exploited clear defects in Ole Miss' defense. Tackling was an issue for the Rebels all game, which Toney heightened on his touchdown run by rolling straight through multiple defenders.
Beck's play was less of a fundamental issue and more of a coverage mishap. Ole Miss, which had blown coverage on multiple occasions throughout the game, had the entire left side of the field wide open for the Miami quarterback to stroll in and take the lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Pete Golding takes responsibility for Ole Miss' CFP loss
Golding also noted that the controversial Hail Mary at the end of the game did not cost Ole Miss the game. He took full responsibility for the loss, saying the Rebels fell short due to inadequate preparation and coaching.
The coaching aspect would always have been difficult for Ole Miss, considering the majority of its staff has been pulling double duty throughout the College Football Playoffs. Several key assistants, namely offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., have already been brought on by Lane Kiffin at LSU and have been commuting between Oxford and Baton Rouge in the last few weeks.
Regardless, Golding still put the loss on his shoulders. The 41-year-old is now tasked with rounding out the rest of his inaugural coaching staff and quickly returning to the recruiting scene before his first full year as head coach.
