Pete Golding and Ole Miss football pulled off a magnificent win over Lane Kiffin’s LSU in front of a raucous home crowd in Mississippi. The win over their former head coach provided the Rebels with significant momentum, with Ole Miss climbing to No. 4 in the latest AP Poll.
However, Golding is not allowing his team to get carried away, as the Ole Miss head coach knows the Rebels have little room for complacency in the SEC, where overlooking even one week of preparation can have serious consequences. Golding has already described Ole Miss’ schedule as “one of the tougher schedules in the country,” meaning the Rebels quickly have to turn their attention toward their next challenge.
As Ole Miss will now face a Florida team that has shown huge improvement under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, Golding understands that the Gators will not be concerned with Ole Miss’ recent success or the attention surrounding the LSU win.
“This is a ‘what have you done for me lately?' business, so we can read all the press clippings, go back and watch the tape again, pat ourselves on the back, but Sumrall and Florida don’t give a shit about any of that,” Golding said (h/t Thomas Goldcamp of On3 Sports).
Article Continues Below“They’re going to be ready to play, they’re really well coached, they’ve got really good players. So if our focus isn’t on ourselves, on preparing really well in order to be able to execute at a high level, then you’re not going to like the result.”
Golding’s warning comes with good reason, as Sumrall has gotten Florida off to a 3-0 start, including a 1-0 record in the SEC. That represents a dramatic change from last season, when the Gators finished 4-8 overall and just 2-6 in conference play.
Ole Miss will now have to prepare for a Florida team that appears to be playing with renewed confidence.