With Hugh Freeze at the helm, Ole Miss can and will be a contender in the gruesome Southeastern Conference — at least he will if the fans let him.
Last weekend, Ole Miss lost its third straight game. This one was a gut-wrenching loss to Texas A&M. And as expected, fans were very vocal about their displeasure with Freeze. Fans complained about the playcalling and losing at home, and some were still even complaining about the loss at Auburn the previous week.
That can’t happen.
Freeze took over a program that was 2-10. He took over a program that had more than 25 players in danger of not being academically eligible for the 2012 season. He took over a program that had little, if any, depth, especially for SEC standards. It wasn’t good.
Fast-forward to now, and Ole Miss fans are really upset about losses on the road at No. 1 Alabama and Auburn and a home loss to No. 9 Texas A&M, which happens to have the best player in college football. I get it. The Rebels should’ve won against Auburn and Texas A&M, but it will get there.
Freeze is recruiting like no one ever has at Ole Miss. Last year’s recruiting class that was ranked in the top-10 classes by every major recruiting service wasn’t a one-hit wonder. Ole Miss fans can get used to fighting the big boys for recruits on a yearly basis. It’s vital to competing in the SEC. Without recruiting at a high level, you can’t expect to compete with the top-tier teams.
“The greatest thing about Ole Miss is family,” Freeze said at his weekly press conference Monday. “That is our selling point. It is working. Every time a recruit comes on this campus with their family, we have a chance to get them because the strongest thing we have is family.”
That family atmosphere isn’t just working for recruiting purposes either. That type of environment is what programs need to take the next level. Freeze always talks about telling his players to do whatever they can for one another. That builds chemistry within a team, and chemistry wins games, lots of games.
Entering this season, the goal was to continue to improve to keep that momentum going. Ole Miss, barring more season-ending injuries, will do that. They need three wins to get back to a bowl game, and let’s face it, Idaho and Troy are guaranteed wins. So they need one more, and I find it hard to believe they can’t get one of the four remaining conference games. Yes, losses — especially close losses — are frustrating. And you can bet that Freeze is the most frustrated one of all. But eventually, Freeze and Ole Miss will be on the better end of those close games. It may not be later this year or next year, but down the road, Ole Miss will win those games.
“There’s no question in my mind that everyone in the Ole Miss family wants us to get to a certain spot,” Freeze said. “We are on the way.”
And with Freeze running the show, Ole Miss will get there.
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