The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes defeated the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night, securing their spot in the national championship. Following the game, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding shared his thoughts on the match and his team”s performance.
Coach Golding stated, “Obviously, disappointed for the outcome. Had a chance in the fourth and go up late. Them playing real well on defense all night. But to be up in the fourth and have an opportunity to close it out on that stage, it”s something we”ll all look back on and get better from. But I can”t tell you how proud I am of this group. They never panicked. They never flinched.”
He highlighted the leadership of his players, noting, “Two of them are sitting up here. I can remember looking at them at halftime and just looking in their eyes and they didn”t panic. We had been here before. We didn”t make enough plays when we needed to from a coach”s standpoint. We”ve got to find a way to put them in better position late in the game and close it out.” He expressed pride in the team”s legacy, saying, “This is a group that created this legacy for this team and an expectation for this program that — what I told them in the locker room that we”re pissed off in a Semifinal game because we feel like we should have won the game because we didn”t play our best and we didn”t coach our best.”
When asked about Miami”s strategy, Golding remarked, “The effort piece of it has never been an issue all year. We knew they were going to come in and try to establish the run. Toney, on the perimeter, was a deep threat that we wanted to be able to try to contain.” He acknowledged the team”s struggles on critical third downs, saying, “In those games on third downs — critical third downs, you got to find a way to get off the field and we didn”t. But really proud of their effort. We could have done some better things from a coaching staff as well. It”s on all of us.”
Addressing the defensive challenges, Golding explained, “We were double teaming some and had some good stops. And then the scrambles were an issue. Then we spy. And obviously, when you spy, we had some one-on-ones. Had a couple of busts. And then some of the late ones were some third and shorts.” He emphasized the need for improvement, stating, “You got to do a better job on first and second down to give us some third and longs.”
Golding praised the talent of Miami”s defense, noting, “They”re very talented. The front six is really explosive. Not only can they get off the rock and they are elite pass rushers, but they”re heavy-handed in the run game.” He acknowledged the difficulty of the game, saying, “I mean, guys, it”s the Semifinals. It”s supposed to be hard.”
Regarding player injuries, he commented on Kewan Lacy“s situation, saying, “He had a hamstring that they were going back and forth with for a while. These kids, there”s nobody in that locker room that”s not going to fight through it.” Golding added, “There”s a difference between hurting and being injured. A lot of them are hurting, and a lot of them went out of the game, but they found their way back in the game.”
Golding also reflected on the support from fans, stating, “I”m so excited for our players to be able to see that and come out to it. A lot of these fans have invested a lot in a lot of different ways over a lot of years. And they deserve this.” He expressed hope for continued opportunities for the program.
In closing, he commented on the last moments of the game, saying, “Yeah, there was contact, but it happens a lot. That”s not why we lost the game. But we just had a lot of opportunities late, but I think it shows you the resiliency of the team. They didn”t care.” He emphasized the lessons learned, stating, “It looks like you ran out of time, but we didn”t execute well enough, didn”t prepare well enough, and we didn”t coach good enough.”
Reflecting on the team”s journey, Golding said, “To be honest with you, I think I”ll just remember how they embraced each other. There was a lot over the last month or so, however long it”s been now, to where somebody could have not been a good dude. Somebody could have not worked hard. Somebody could have not showed up on time. And I can”t recall one issue.” He concluded by highlighting the camaraderie and memories formed during the season.
