Hugh Freeze and the Ole Miss football team don’t seem to get along. That was made crystal apparent by the Rebel’s social media staff following Ole Miss’ 27-14 victory over Liberty on Saturday. For the first time since he stepped down as the Rebels’ head coach before the commencement of the 2017 college football season, Freeze, a coach at Liberty, visited Oxford, Miss., on Saturday.
A 39-25 record, four winning seasons, two of which concluded with Ole Miss rated in the top 25, and two victories over Nick Saban’s Alabama squad were the highlights of his five-year time with the Rebels.
The presence of venom in this animal should not be shocking. The embarrassment of the program was Hugh Freeze. As a result, Ole Miss football spent three seasons as a recurrent loser in the sport’s most competitive division.
Finally, Freeze gave in to his conceit. If anyone had evidence that Ole Miss was lying, he dared them to contact compliance while tweeting Bible passages which it was. That’s about as juicy as it gets to putting yourself in a situation where the public can make fun of you.
Why Was Hugh Freeze Fired?
It is stated that time is a healer. Unfortunately, for other folks, such wounds might remain open. Some people may view Freeze differently than those who attended Ole Miss from 2016 to 2020 and never saw their team compete in a bowl game. This is because fans who have been following Ole Miss football since Archie Manning destroyed the Alabama defense fifty years ago may have a different viewpoint.
As a result, it seemed like an afterthought when Ole Miss and Liberty’s 2021 matchup was announced. At the time, it was just another SEC squad humiliating an FCS opponent for a $1,500,000 payout. When the news was released, Hugh Freeze announced his resignation as head coach at Ole Miss.
Finally, the NCAA was poised to close one of the most well-known SEC controversies involving a university-issued cell phone and Freeze’s university escort business. Freeze visited Ole Miss on Saturday for the first time since May 2017, and the timing couldn’t have been better. This season, Freeze’s comeback to the Liberty squad is focused on defeating the team he guided to its biggest triumph of the century.
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— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 6, 2021
In this separation, both parties were allowed to reach their own decisions. After the NCAA approved the program, Lane Kiffin’s squad enters November in contention for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowls. After three seasons at Liberty, Freeze’s Auburn transfer quarterback Malik Willis is currently ranked highest on the NFL draught boards. We thought we had seen the best of Ole Miss under Freeze just five years ago.
Without him, neither Katy Perry nor Alabama’s second victory would have occurred. Ole Miss was ranked fourth in the initial Playoff poll. Consider the years 2014–15 and see the changes. The average age fan’s Ole Miss fandom peaked at that point. The playoff positions weren’t listed, but consider a school like Tennessee.
After more than a decade of insignificance, Vols supporters would give everything for a two-year run that featured numerous triumphs over Nick Saban’s Alabama and a shot at the national title in November. Because of the penalties put in place. As a result, Ole Miss will always feel as though it sold its soul to the devil in exchange for players like Laremy Tunsil and Robert Nkemdiche.
Hugh Freeze Replaces Bryan Harsin:
If Bryan Harsin were fired, Jake Crain wouldn’t be astonished to see Hugh Freeze join Auburn. But, unfortunately, this season, Auburn football has not given fans a lot of reason for optimism after giving up 16 points in both of its games, one to an FCS school (Mercer) in Week 1 and the other to a Mountain West team (San Jose State), which won by a single touchdown last weekend.
This weekend’s contest against Penn State could serve as a barometer for the remainder of the year, similar to Week 3 of the previous year. Then, a disastrous play call by former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo in September 2021 caused a fourth-and-goal end zone fade, resulting in a late eight-point loss. The Tigers ultimately lost their final four games similarly, sadly.
This time around, Bryan Harsin faces the most formidable challenge of his life after a less-than-inspiring late win against a club that needed a backdoor TD to defeat Portland State in their opener and in the wake of the firing of widely scrutinized Scott Frost at Nebraska.
If the Tigers beat Penn State, they can open the season 5-0 because Mizzou and LSU will be visiting and have already suffered disappointing losses. But, on the other hand, if you lose, many questions will be flying about. Hugh Freeze might replace Harsin as head coach of Auburn football if things don’t go well this year, according to Jake Crain, the show’s host, in the most recent episode of “Crain & Company.”
Three games are considered in the 2022 Auburn football season, and two have already been won, albeit in unspectacular non-spread covering fashion in Weeks 1 and 2. Depending on who you ask, Mizzou may be the next considering their recent humiliation at the hands of Kansas State this past Saturday. Western Kentucky is generally expected to be the next.
The remaining games will be scraps versus Georgia and the SEC West, with a maximum of four being highly winnable. Few people would be discussing Bryan Harsin’s dismissal if he could win three games against LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State. Infuriate Penn State, Georgia, or Alabama, and that conversation will end abruptly.