Rebels' Defense Makes Statement In Victory Over Mercer
Offense wins games, but defense brings home conference titles. Few know that as well as first-year Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding after spending five seasons under Nick Saban's watch at Alabama.
Golding's unit made a statement Saturday in the Rebels' 73-7 season-opening win over Mercer. One drive stopped Ole Miss from pitching a shutout.
Once Bears' quarterback Carter Peevy broke free for a 75-yard scamper to tie the game at 7-apiece, Golding laid down the hammer on the sidelines.
The outcome? The Rebels' defense did the same on the field.
“We’ve been preparing really hard for about two weeks for this game,” senior defensive back Daijan Anthony said. “We treated it like a really big game, because every game is a big game. After facing coach Kiffin’s offense for the last five weeks, and then flipping to Mercer’s offense, it was definitely a big difference. Overall we prepared really well, which is how we got the results we did today.”
Rebels coach Lane Kiffin channeled his inner Saban following the score, giving Golding an earful before problems arose. Fans remember when the fourth-year coach stood on the sidelines at Bryant-Denny Stadium as the Tide's offensive coordinator and took what Saban called a "good ole fashioned ass-chewing" in blowouts during the 2014-16 seasons.
“I said on the headset that, ‘We paid a lot of money, Pete, for you and that’s not exactly what we’re expecting,'” Kiffin said. “That wasn’t a real good start.”
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Ole Miss forced three punts and a fumble to end the first half. Anthony, a transfer from Liberty, picked off Peevy to begin the second half, leading to a 16-yard touchdown from Jaxson Dart to Tre Harris to extend the Rebels' lead to 45.
Four different Rebels recorded a sack while nine more combined for 11.5 tackles for loss. Ole Miss held Mercer to 124 yards through the air and allotted just three third-down conversions.
Golding, who helped Alabama finish with five consecutive top-25 defenses, was one of three new defensive faces making headlines to kick off the new year. Freshman linebacker Suntarine Perkins totaled a team-high nine tackles and a sack. Anthony notched three stops to go along with the pick.
Perkins, the Rebels' highest-rated recruit from the 2023 cycle, drew rave reviews throughout the summer, but fans had only read about his impact. They watched as the 6-3, 205-pounder bounced sideline-to-sideline, making stops before finally forcing his way into the backfield for a sack in the fourth quarter.
“I wasn’t surprised. That’s how this guy has played in every practice he’s been in and every scrimmage,” Kiffin said of Perkins' outing. “That’s what we expected him to be. That’s why we put a lot of energy into recruiting him. We haven’t really had a defensive impact freshman like that so it’s really good to see.”
The No. 22 Rebels hit the road for a Week 2 matchup against No. 24 Tulane at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
