The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Bye Week: Practice Report
9/30/2026 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 9 Ole Miss football team will enter its mid-season bye week at 3-1 after falling to Florida in Gainsville.
The Ole Miss Rebels are using their bye week to reset and refocus following a road loss at Florida, with offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and defensive tackle Will Echoles meeting with reporters as the team evaluates its performance through the first four games of the season. This week's practice report is presented by Mississippi Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center.
Looking in the Mirror
Kutas said the bye week has provided the Rebels with an opportunity to take an honest look at what has and has not worked through the first month of the season.
"You have to be real honest with yourself," Kutas said. "Really look at yourself in the mirror, look at the tape, see what went wrong, what did we do to make this not work, what did we do good."
While the loss to Florida has not fractured the locker room, Kutas said the feeling of the defeat is still fresh for the Rebels.
"Nobody likes that feeling," he said. "But emotionally we're fine. If anything, it's lighting a fire under us."
Kutas said Head Coach Pete Golding's message following the loss was to allow the disappointment to linger rather than immediately move on from it. While that can be difficult, Kutas said it is an important part of the team's response.
"You can't forget that feeling," he said. "It's going to sit with you until you play the next game, just inevitably."
The offensive line has also used the extra time to evaluate areas where it can improve, with Kutas pointing to the unit's starts as an area of emphasis.
"Whenever we get the opportunity to start with the ball, we just got to start fast," he said. "The longer we play together and the more reps we get, we're just going to gel together even more."
Back to Basics
Echoles was direct in his assessment of the defensive performance against Florida, saying the defensive line must take responsibility for its performance.
"We put a lot of love on film," Echoles said. "Lack of violence. That starts during the week. It's a mindset."
Echoles said the unit cannot rely solely on scheme to get the job done, emphasizing that pursuit and physicality must come from within.
"PG can call all the calls he wants to call, but if we're not going out there executing our job and having that want to get the ball carrier on the ground, it's never going to work."
Rather than introducing anything new, Echoles said the defense has spent the bye week returning to its fundamentals.
"PG made it very simple," he said. "It's about striking blocks, getting off blocks, making plays. Sometimes as a defense we try to play too perfect, trying to do all the right things, instead of being instinctual. Just go find the ball and make the play."
Echoles pointed to the Rebels missing more than 10 tackles and allowing more than 200 yards after contact against Florida as areas that must be corrected. He said that improvement starts with the defensive front.
"It all starts with me and Cam pulling guys to the level and to the standard that we need to play at," he said.
With Vanderbilt next on the schedule and the first month of the season complete, the Rebels are using the bye week to evaluate, correct and prepare for the remainder of the season.
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The Ole Miss Rebels are using their bye week to reset and refocus following a road loss at Florida, with offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and defensive tackle Will Echoles meeting with reporters as the team evaluates its performance through the first four games of the season. This week's practice report is presented by Mississippi Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center.
Looking in the Mirror
Kutas said the bye week has provided the Rebels with an opportunity to take an honest look at what has and has not worked through the first month of the season.
"You have to be real honest with yourself," Kutas said. "Really look at yourself in the mirror, look at the tape, see what went wrong, what did we do to make this not work, what did we do good."
While the loss to Florida has not fractured the locker room, Kutas said the feeling of the defeat is still fresh for the Rebels.
"Nobody likes that feeling," he said. "But emotionally we're fine. If anything, it's lighting a fire under us."
Kutas said Head Coach Pete Golding's message following the loss was to allow the disappointment to linger rather than immediately move on from it. While that can be difficult, Kutas said it is an important part of the team's response.
"You can't forget that feeling," he said. "It's going to sit with you until you play the next game, just inevitably."
The offensive line has also used the extra time to evaluate areas where it can improve, with Kutas pointing to the unit's starts as an area of emphasis.
"Whenever we get the opportunity to start with the ball, we just got to start fast," he said. "The longer we play together and the more reps we get, we're just going to gel together even more."
Back to Basics
Echoles was direct in his assessment of the defensive performance against Florida, saying the defensive line must take responsibility for its performance.
"We put a lot of love on film," Echoles said. "Lack of violence. That starts during the week. It's a mindset."
Echoles said the unit cannot rely solely on scheme to get the job done, emphasizing that pursuit and physicality must come from within.
"PG can call all the calls he wants to call, but if we're not going out there executing our job and having that want to get the ball carrier on the ground, it's never going to work."
Rather than introducing anything new, Echoles said the defense has spent the bye week returning to its fundamentals.
"PG made it very simple," he said. "It's about striking blocks, getting off blocks, making plays. Sometimes as a defense we try to play too perfect, trying to do all the right things, instead of being instinctual. Just go find the ball and make the play."
Echoles pointed to the Rebels missing more than 10 tackles and allowing more than 200 yards after contact against Florida as areas that must be corrected. He said that improvement starts with the defensive front.
"It all starts with me and Cam pulling guys to the level and to the standard that we need to play at," he said.
With Vanderbilt next on the schedule and the first month of the season complete, the Rebels are using the bye week to evaluate, correct and prepare for the remainder of the season.
Stay Connected
Stay up to date with all the latest Ole Miss football news and content! Subscribe to The Sip, the official newsletter of Rebel football, and we'll drop the best Ole Miss football stories, videos and social media content to your inbox each week.
Players Mentioned
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