Ruby DraayerWell, well, well, the time has come. Hugh Freeze and Liberty are coming into town looking to get a massive win over No. 15 Ole Miss.
Ole Miss is coming off of their second loss of the season to No. 12 Auburn last weekend. Injuries and lack of depth were extremely apparent in the disappointing loss to the Tigers, but the focus will shift to someone else this week. Liberty will be making its first appearance in Oxford, but it won’t be everyone’s first time in Oxford. Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze is not a stranger to Mississippi and is looking to shock the football world with his first time back in Oxford since “resigning” in 2017.
Freeze was the head coach for Ole Miss from 2012-2016. He inherited a dreadful football program under former head coach Houston Nutt. Freeze was able to transform this team and took them to a bowl game in each of his four years of coaching. Most notably, Hugh Freeze was the coach that beat Alabama in back-to-back years, as well as led the Rebels to the Sugar Bowl and won in 2016. However, Freeze is also responsible for the destruction of the Ole Miss football program the following year. Former coach Nutt was suing the school for defamation after reports that former Athletic Director Ross Bjork and Freeze blamed Nutt for numerous recruiting violations that happened during his time at Ole Miss.
During the investigation headed up by the NCAA, it was found that 17 of the 21 violations actually occurred during Freeze’s time at Ole Miss. This was found when the NCAA updated their Notice of Allegations that charged the program with 21 total violations. This meant that Ole Miss was required to vacate 33 wins during this time, a two-year post-season ban, three years of probation, and a four-year ban on some scholarships. During this same investigation, it was revealed that Freeze was responsible for cell phone calls to a female escort service using University of Mississippi phones. He then resigned, leaving Matt Luke the interim head coach just before the start of the season.
Looking ahead to this week, Ole Miss has a giant mountain to climb in regards to injuries. It was clear to everyone against Auburn that the offensive production was not what it usually is, and that is largely due to significant injuries in the offensive line and wide receiving rooms. The top three receivers are expected to miss this week’s game, whether with season-ending injuries or just out of an abundance of caution.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Kiffin told the media only two of the original 11 starters practiced on Wednesday.
“Excited to come back home…we’ll have our hands full. We’re a very injured group, especially offensively. Never seen anything like this. (It) does present a challenge for us.” Kiffin said.
This Ole Miss team was already struggling during Auburn, and were only able to score three points in the second half against the Tigers. Although Liberty does not have the same level of talent, only being able to score three points the rest of the season is not going to cut it. Multiple turnovers in the game by the defense and special teams helped the offense by putting them in fantastic field position, but were only able to score points on four of the eight trips in the red zone.
Defensively, the Rebels have shown drastic improvements and were able to give the offense a chance to win the game by holding Bo Nix and his offense to only three points in the second half. AJ Finley led the team in tackles along with Sam Willams and Tylan Knight each getting a sack, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
The Liberty Flames are sitting at 7-2 on the season with losses to Syracuse and UL Monroe. In the 2020 season, they had an unbelievable season and finished the year 10-1. They are an independent university but have a fantastic football program. Quarterback Malik Willis has almost 2,000 yards so far this season with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is averaging about 66.1% completion, and is not someone to overlook this year. The Flames have been very efficient offensively this season behind Willis, and he has also been their leading rusher so far this season. Through nine games, Willis has rushed for 684 rushing yards.
Both quarterbacks have already had incredible seasons and very similar stat lines. Matt has passed for 2,202 yards and has a 66% completion rate at this point in the season, but it is unsure whether Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral will be healthy enough to play on Saturday. After suffering a shocking ankle injury that forced him to leave the game, his status is still unclear ahead of this weekend’s matchup. He has a unique ability to lead this team towards a win almost single-handedly, and without his playmaking ability, things will get a lot tricker for this Rebels team.
Looking to this week, finding the offensive depth is going to be the key for the Rebels to win this game. There has been a lot of discussion of a “next man up” mentality, and this will be especially crucial this season. Expect to see a lot of new faces, as well as a much less complicated offense. Ole Miss players and Kiffin have alluded to the idea that this will be a very run-heavy offense this week. Despite Corral being the current leading rusher on the team, Henry Parrish and Snoop Conner both have over 400 yards rushing on the year. In order to win this game, they will be critical to find open spaces and punish a depleted Liberty defense.
“We’re going to simplify things and try to play some younger players,” Kiffin said. “Obviously three points in the second half isn’t going to get it done…we have to find a way to overcome that. That’s what coaching is.”
Ole Miss and Liberty kick-off at 11:00 a.m. CST on SEC Network+ in the much anticipated match-up in Oxford.
