JJ Pegues understands fans’ reaction to LSU loss, believes Rebels have plenty to play for: ‘We still control our destination’
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss defensive tackle JJ Pegues offered his thoughts earlier this week on the Rebels’ loss to LSU and what the reactions to that loss say about Lane Kiffin’s program.
Overall, Pegues had positive things to say about the Rebel defense.
“I feel like our defense is coming together really closely. We’ve been trying to do the little things, and the little things are really what change the game. We try to make the big plays, but also you try to make the routine plays, and that’s something that we’ve been working on.“
– Pegues on the Ole Miss defense
The defense is No. 3 in the country in points allowed per game with 10.57, sixth for the most sacks per game (3.43), and ranked No. 5 in red zone defense (.625). In losses to Kentucky and LSU, the defense did not allow the opposing rushing attack to gain over 100 yards and became the primary reason that Ole Miss had an opportunity to win the game.
I just enjoyed this play. JJ Pegues almost gets a forced fumble, but it’s ruled a PBU because the arm was moving forward. Look at the big man run the arc! pic.twitter.com/FXBFwkWMKX
— Sam Teets (@Sam_Teets33) October 14, 2024
Despite the effort, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Wildcats and Tigers from prevailing over the Rebels. Pegues discussed Ole Miss’ loss to LSU as well as the fans’ expectations of going into Death Valley and winning.
“Same as Lane said. We came into LSU to beat them in Death Valley….How our fans felt, the same way we felt… things just went the other way. And I give kudos to LSU, they have great players and great coaches… but at the end of the day, we control what we can control. Our outcome we wanted was a win. You just have those thoughts in your head of ‘this play or that play or that crucial play,’ but it was all the little things. That’s something why I came back is to change the way our fans think… I am grateful I came back, and we have changed the way people think about Ole Miss.“
– Pegues on the loss to LSU and the fan’s expectation to win
Being ranked No. 18 in the AP poll, the Rebels are currently out of the 12-team playoff format and are likely going to have to win the rest of their games to be considered. With Ole Miss having five more games and another bye week in November, Lane Kiffin told his team that an opportunity to achieve their goals is still in front of them, even after two early losses.
“You could feel that life is gonna life — we lost. But at the end of the day, I feel like Coach Kiffin came up here and did a great job of just letting us know that we still control our destination. Us losing, yes you’re going to feel it, but you can’t just dwell on it because at the end of the day we do have more games to play. We still want to leave a mark here that no one else has left, so I just feel like we just keep going, keep putting our head down and just work harder. I keep saying the little things, but the little things are big for us and that’s something we harp on a lot. We just want to emphasize that and do those things.“
– Pegues on the message from Lane Kiffin
Bye week work #ProMindset | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/emccIungO9
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 15, 2024
What’s Next?
Ole Miss will have the first of their two bye weeks over the weekend and prepare for their October 26 game against Oklahoma in Vaught-Hemingway.
Hotty Toddy, and Go Rebs!
