Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding speaks the language of football fluently. More so than most coaches, Golding will break down finer details of a matchup before and after. Auburn Tiger fans can appreciate that ahead of a massive Week 9 matchup between the three- and two-loss SEC programs.
Of the X's and O's Golding called out, one of his deep-dive takes was on how his defense would have to contend with Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown and the lightning-fast execution of Joel Gordon's veer-and-shoot offense.
Golding noted that the spacing of the Tigers' offense will make him choose whether to load the box and leave outside corners in one-on-ones with Auburn's outside receivers, to account for the run, or not.
“The offense runs through the quarterback,” Golding said this week. “Dual-threat guy, leads the SEC in quarterback run game, so you got to be able to account for him on base downs.
“The spacing of the receivers splits you out of the ballpark, which creates a numbers issue. So, you load the box, you’re going to create some one-on-ones outside. So with that being said, you’ve got to be able to play man-to-man.”
Brown is a tough quarterback to account for in many aspects. His strong connections with outside receivers Keshaun Singleton and Jeremiah Koger have carried over from USF. He's also connected well with fellow former Bull Chas Nimrod out of the slot.
Brown has figured out how to do damage out of broken plays, of which there are many with the protection in front of him. That's tied the entire offense together and given Golding such an intriguing chess match on Saturday.
The lack of a run game beyond Brown has been a massive problem on the Plains this season. Still, if the running backs could be helpful in protection, that could add another blocker in the backfield, which in turn would force Golding to have more defenders in the box and less help outside.
Pete Golding not looking past Auburn to Georgia
Golding isn't in a place where he can look past the Tigers and worry about Georgia. Slip up against Auburn on Saturday, and the Rebels can kiss the CFP goodbye.
Of course, the Tigers beat the Bulldogs 27-24 in Athens. Alex Golesh's squad cannot be counted out against any opponent from here on out.
Imagine going from losing to New Mexico State with the last guy to beating UGA? Auburn is back. To Golding's credit, he understands that.
"That’s a good football team that obviously already beat Georgia," Golding said after his team's comeback bid against Texas fell short last Saturday in Austin.
Golding understands the dynamics of SEC football in 2026. We'll see if his X's and O's mastery is enough to stave off an upset in Oxford.
Add us as a preferred source on Google