Nutt Speaks With Beat Writers

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt spoke with the media on Sunday and reviewed the Rebels' game at Auburn and discussed the upcoming home meeting with Northern Arizona.

Opening Statement

After watching the film again today, we are a little bit discouraged with the mental busts we had in the secondary. Our defense probably didn't have their best day. They are much better than that. We play faster than that. We just weren't playing fast. Our corners' and safeties' eyes were very poor. They let some things get behind them. Offensively, we had numerous opportunities to put points on the board and that was frustrating. We hurt ourselves with key penalties, some drops, bad throws and missed blocks. We stopped ourselves so many times. You just can't have turnovers and penalties in the SEC. Jesse Grandy gave us a lift and he really brought us back with his kickoff return and Dexter (McCluster's) home run with the 79-yard run. When the defense got the turnover on their end, we really thought we were going to win the game 34-33. But we backed ourselves up again with a penalty, a sack, a penalty and an interception.

Q: How did the offensive line perform against Auburn?

I thought they were very good in the first half and then when we got into the game of third-and-long (Auburn) got us in the second half. The left side, Antonio Coleman got to us several times and he is a real force. Everyone in the league has one or two guys who know how to rush and he did a number on us because we were in bad situations. We blocked pretty well in the run game. Protection can be better, but again, we put ourselves in such bad situations in the second half with the third-and-long situations.

Q: Was there too much emphasis on Auburn's trick plays that led to the defense's struggles?

There could be something to that. I just know we thought our preparation was good. We knew what we had to prepare for, but it did slow our eyes and our focus. To me, we run a lot of that same stuff. That was what was frustrating. We are better than that. That's what is frustrating and is what eats your guts out when you watch the tape again today.

Q: Were you surprised that the success in the running game didn't open up the passing game?

Yes. When you look at it, we had some guys open and missed a couple of throws. Then we dropped a couple. There are about five plays I'd like to have back. Shay (Hodge's) ball right before the half, he caught it and it got knocked out by a helmet. Markeith (Summers') low tip up in the air that went for a TD. Those things make this thing a different game. We always tell them it is four or five plays, you just never know which ones they are going to be.

Q: How is Bobby Massie developing?

He's getting better, but we don't know if he's quite ready just yet. Hopefully we are going to get him more playing time this weekend.

Q: Does playing Dexter McCluster in the backfield hurt your depth at wide receiver?

Anytime you take Dexter out of the receiving corps, you lose a step. But we need him in the backfield to give us the best chance to win.

Q: How is Jevan Snead holding up after taking some hits?

He's a tough guy and he's hanging in there. He's a little sore, but he is hanging in there and seems to be doing pretty good.

Q: Why does Brandon Bolden seem to be struggling?

He has given us good production in the passing game which has been good, but the other part, I don't know. He has to do better on short-yardage situations, get north quicker, take what they give us and protect the ball when you are going down. He's been beat up a little - ankle, knee. He has been pretty sore as of late. We expect so much more of him.

Q: What is Enrique Davis' status?

He is hanging in there. He got hurt during UAB week. He's healthy now, but we have a rotation going right now. Hopefully he will get some looks this weekend.

Q: What about the injuries from that game?

It's just minor stuff - ankles, quads and soreness. We had about five or six in the training room this morning. We should be ok.

Q: Will you hold any players out this week?

We are going to try to go full-out this weekend. We are going to try to get it done. I will know more later in the week.

Q: Was there a common theme that led to the poor offensive drives?

Yes, we stopped ourselves with penalties, drops, bad throws and missed blocks. We stopped ourselves each time.

Q: What about your team's mindset?

I'm sure we are all down, but that has to get out of here today. It's November and we have to go. We don't have time to be down past today.

Q: What is the status of Rishaw Johnson and Dan Hoffman?

Dan Hoffman is not back and Rishaw is back to practice today. He is eligible to play this week.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos