OXFORD — Jared Ivey said Tuesday there’s no quit whatsoever inside the Ole Miss locker room in the wake of the Rebels’ disappointing overtime loss at LSU 10 days ago.
The Rebels (5-2 overall, 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference) lost at LSU, 29-26, and then had a bye week to stew in the angst of it all going into the stretch run, beginning with Saturday’s 11 a.m. game against Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3).
“You pair that with having some time to let the body rest and I feel like everybody’s fresh and you have guys with a lot of energy and guys who have been wanting to get back in full pads and get back out there with a full practice and hit and get through our stuff,” Ivey said.
Realistically, the Rebels have to win all five of its remaining games to make the College Football Playoff. That would mean wins over Oklahoma, Arkansas, No. 2 Georgia, Florida and Mississippi State, a daunting assignment for a team that has dropped two of its three league games already.
Ivey said he’s seen no signs of any of his teammates giving up on the season.
“I don’t think I see any quitters,” Ivey said. “I don’t feel like there were any quitters on the teams from the past after any losses. I don’t feel like I’ve been on teams here with guys like that who would just quit on you mid-season because of a loss.
“We have been together and doing this thing for seven or eight months now, since spring ball, since fall camp and stuff like that. There’s no quit on my brother. They’re good dudes. They’re solid guys. I think that speaks to the culture we have set in place."
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Looking to lead: Ole Miss linebacker Pooh Paul leads the team in tackles with 48 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
This week, as the Rebels look to turn the page to Oklahoma and the rest of the, the Arkansas transfer is stepping up his leadership even more.
“When I was coming into Ole Miss, one of my goals was to come in and be the leader of the defense,” Paul said. “I always said I wanted to be the guy on defense who brought the high energy as well as be that guy players could lean on when things got tough. I want to be that example. I want to be that guy they look at and make them go harder because they do the same for me. I look at some guys out there and they make me push myself harder because I’ve got my brother next to me doing the same.
“It’s all about, like I said earlier in the year, I want 100 percent out of you because I’m going to give you 100 percent. At the end of the day, I gave you everything I had inside me so I want everything that’s inside you.”
Not struggling: Ole Miss wide receiver Cayden Lee pushed back a bit Tuesday when asked about the Rebels’ offense “struggling” in SEC play.
“I really don’t think we’ve struggled too much in SEC play,” said Lee, who is second on the Ole Miss team with 27 receptions for 429 yards and a touchdown so far this season. “We just haven’t finished the best. So I’d say maybe just converting in the red-zone area and finishing on drives and yeah, we just have to finish in the red zone.”
Venables discusses staff shake-up: In his first public appearance since he announced Sunday the dismissal of OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, Sooners coach Brent Venables explained his decision to make the midseason change.
"Over the last several months, there’s a body of work that you look at all of it and evaluate it," Venables said during his weekly Coaches Show. "And obviously we haven’t played winning football on offense. And so you always go back and look at why. We know what some of the issues have been from a roster standpoint, from an injury standpoint, and those are very real without question. But at the end of the day, you look at (it and say) OK, if we continue to do what we’ve been doing there’s a good chance we’re going to continue to have the same results.
“At the end of the day just felt that, you know, I gave it it’s time. Or I didn’t feel like I was rushing to judgement. And everything doesn’t fall at the feet of coach Littrell either. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that. And (it's) incredibly hard because you know so many people are affected. There’s a real domino effect. But at the end of the day I’ve got to do what’s best for the players and certainly the program and that’s what ultimately led to decision."
The evidence, as OUInsider.com's Jesse Crittenden wrote, was certainly mounting that a change was needed. The Sooners rank 93rd in scoring offense (22.1 points per game), 125th in total offense (288.1 yards per game), 106th in rushing offense (111 yards per game), 112th in passing offense (176.4 yards per game) and 132nd in yards per play (4.1). In addition, the Sooners now sit at 4-3 (1-3 SEC) on the season are coming off of back-to-back losses by multiple touchdowns, including Saturday's 35-9 loss to South Carolina.
And while Venables made it clear that the issues aren't solely on Littrell, the Sooners simply had to make a change.
"You have injuries, maybe you have a young quarterback, maybe have a new offensive line, and you got some guys banged up there, and there's a continuity thing, and then you have several guys on offense that are in their first year, whether they're an older guy or younger guy," Venables said. "So I look at that, but I know that we're not the only ones, but why are we historically not where we need to be?
"And there's been some improvement. It's been incredibly incremental. You don't sound right by saying that, because at the end of the day, the result has been the result, and it's all crap. And so for me, I've got to look out for everybody else, and... maybe it provides a spark, maybe it creates a little more edge, although I've felt like we've had great engagement and great will to invest week in and week out by both the players and the staff, but maybe this provides a little bit of a spark."
