Special teams mistakes, mental errors hound Rebels

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe says the Rebels must eliminate the mental errors and special teams mistakes that proved costly against Texas Tech. <br> <br> ``After reviewing the Texas Tech film, it was certainly evident that there were several things in the punting and kicking game that hurt us,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said Monday at his weekly news conference. ``It was unusual for us to be sloppy because we don&#39;t practice sloppy. We can&#39;t shoot ourselves in the foot and expect to beat a good team like Texas Tech or teams of that caliber in the future.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Ole Miss (2-1) lost to the Texas Tech 42-28 on Saturday. <br> <br> Beyond poor special teams play, Cutcliffe said the Red Raiders were able to capitalize on unusual situations such as Eli Manning&#39;s screen pass being intercepted for a touchdown. <br> <br> ``There were some unusual plays like the interception for a touchdown that turned out to be a stroke of luck for them,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. ``Sometimes you can&#39;t do a lot about that. We have to move on and put the loss behind us and get ready for a good Vanderbilt team Saturday.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> For a third straight game, the Rebels offense started slowly. They have been outscored 20-0 in the first quarter. <br> <br> ``We haven&#39;t&#39; been good on third down so far. We got better against Texas Tech, but we still need to improve,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. ``Not converting on third downs is the biggest issue for me as far as our starts go. I think we should have been more productive in the first half (Saturday) but we weren&#39;t. It&#39;s disappointing that we didn&#39;t overcome some of those things as a team. We have to find a way to get it done.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Although there were more negatives to talk about, Cutcliffe thought the team improved against the run and throwing the football against the Red Raiders. <br> <br> ``We caught the football much better and did well in pass protection. I thought we got better there as the game went along,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. ``I also thought we played extremely well against the run.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Ole Miss plays Vanderbilt at home Saturday.

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