Ole Miss Football Head Coach Matt Luke met with the media Monday to recap the Cal contest, while also looking ahead to Saturday's matchup at No. 2 Alabama (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS). The full transcript can be found below.
Opening statement…
"Coming off a tough loss against Cal where at times you saw us play really well, but not at the consistency we need to win against good football teams. We'll certainly need that this week, the consistency and the attention to detail heading into Tuscaloosa. They're a really good football team on both sides of the ball. They're explosive at receiver, big up front, and obviously Tua (Tagovailoa) is very good. Defensively, they're fast, they're physical. They're really good at corner, so it's a huge challenge. The key for us is there are a lot of things on tape that we can fix. Offensively, there's 500 yards of offense with a lot of things to get better at. Same thing on defense. I like to see the fact that we are stopping the run, but there are a lot of things on third down here and there that are fixable. That's the focus, the consistency and attention to detail it takes to go on the road and win in this league and win big games."
Injury update on Matt Corral…
"Matt Corral, after further evaluation, is day-to-day with bruised ribs. He was out there yesterday, didn't do a whole lot. He'll be out there tomorrow, and we'll know more after practice tomorrow."
On Pac-12's explanation of the call at the end of the game Saturday…
"Everyone knows it should have been buzzed and reviewed. That's obvious, and I think everybody understands that. I think he scored, but it's time for us to move on and get ready for Alabama."
On points left off the board on Saturday…
"We left a lot out there. That's the disappointing part because you see these young guys growing and getting better, and there are yards and points on the field. The consistency and the attention to detail, you can't have little mistakes here and there against a good football team, and the same will be true going into Tuscaloosa. It's not who you play, it's how you play. It's the little details that it takes to be really good, and that's what we have to go get fixed."
On the secondary play on Saturday…
"It was a combination of things. There were a couple times that they just made a good play. There were a couple times when we were out of position and not using the proper technique. A couple times, it was (when) we were in zone and needed to apply pressure. When you're watching the tape, it is all fixable. It's one or two third downs that would have changed the game. It's the same thing offensively. Sometimes we missed an open guy or the running back didn't make the right read. Sometimes we missed a block. It's the little things here and there that we need to get cleaned up if we want to win big games."
On handling the quarterback reps this week…
"It's all based on how Matt (Corral) progresses and if he's healthy. If he can't go, then John Rhys (Plumlee) and Grant (Tisdale) will be working in there."
"I think John Rhys showed he can go out there and handle himself. He brought a spark into the stadium and on the sideline. Moving forward, what he can bring with his legs, especially against a really good defense, I think that addition gives them (opponents) something else to prepare for. Because Matt (Corral) and John Rhys are so different, they have to go into the game preparing for both. Again, you hope that Matt is healthy and they have to prepare for both of them. That is the goal, to get them healthy and have both of them available."
On communicating the goal line play to Plumlee…
"It's a tempo play, quarterback sneak. Pretty much every team has it. It is signaled in like the other plays."
On if Corral will start if he is healthy…
"You can't make that decision right now. You have to see how he progresses, how confident he is in the injury, and can he do everything. Can he pull it and run it? How is he? Again, you are going with the guys you think will help you win the football game, and I don't think you can make that call until you see him go out there at practice."
On Plumlee's skill set compared to Corral's…
"That is one of the positives of having an experienced coordinator like Rich (Rodriguez). He's had throwing quarterbacks, he's had running quarterbacks, and the offense is very flexible in how we can utilize him. There's a lot of things that are built into the offense that we can go with John Rhys where he can showcase his talents and ability to run the ball. Obviously, you saw that in the game on the quarterback draw and some of the zone read stuff. He can give some guys problems."
On testing if Corral is ready…
"You go through a normal practice and see how he is feeling. He was pretty sore yesterday but feeling a little bit better today. By tomorrow and Wednesday, you will know a little bit more."
On field goals…
"I have a lot of confidence in Luke (Logan). He is our guy. He'll be the guy. He's got plenty of leg, and he is a good kicker. Not so much the first one that we tried, but the one down there (29-yarder), we expect to make those, he expects to make those, and we should. Again, the next time we go there, he'll step up there and be confident. We have a lot of confidence in him. Just have to get out there and get the job done."
On the possibility of using both Corral and Plumlee…
"Absolutely."
On Alabama's speed on the edge…
"It's a huge challenge. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the country, three of the best receivers in the country, maybe four, and obviously a good running back. So, they are just very talented. You can kind of pick your poison. They are very, very talented and very hard to defend. Obviously, they are really, really fast and get behind you. The thing you see is even on some short routes, they are breaking tackles and scoring. They are hard to tackle in the open field. You have to tackle well against them and limit the big plays and make them earn it all the way down the field."
Matt Luke Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJuyz_RqSQ0&feature=youtu.be
Mike MacIntyre Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIGUVxdzW_c&feature=youtu.be
Rich Rodriguez Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4bgkOVsIh4&feature=youtu.be
