Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze knows how close his team is to becoming one of the best in the nation.
Despite a 1-2 record, the Rebels have been competitive against one of the nation’s best schedules. In losses to top-five programs Florida State and Alabama, Ole Miss squandered 21-point leads in both games.
No. 23 Ole Miss (0-1 Southeastern Conference) will try again to play a complete game at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN) when it plays host to Southeastern Conference rival and No. 12 Georgia (3-0, 1-0) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
Ole Miss will return to the field after seeing a 24-3 lead evaporate in a 48-43 loss to No. 1 Alabama Saturday in the conference opener.
“A lot of great things on the field, but certainly disappointed to let another game get away from us after a lead,” Freeze said. “There are so many mistakes being made, particularly on the defensive side that we have got to get fixed. There are a lot of good things at times, but we’ve got to get the third downs and explosive plays fixed. Offensively, we can’t turn the ball over that results in 14 points. For a great team like Alabama, they had 21 points in a matter of, my guess is, 20 seconds. I don’t know how long it took them to run the punt back and the fumble/interception back. You can’t do that against great teams like that.
“The positives are, we are playing a lot of young kids that competed and played their hearts out. I think there is a lot to build on in that regard, and we got better in some spots and we did not improve in some spots. We’ve got to continue to coach, we’ve got to make better calls in certain situations, and we’ve got to make sure we are communicating what our guys are supposed to do and make sure they can do it. Putting up 500 yards plus on an Alabama defense is pretty special, so we are doing some good things there, but have to take care of the ball offensively.”
Under the direction of first-year coach Kirby Smart, Georgia has been living on the edge. It rallied in the second half to pull out victories against North Carolina (33-24), Nicholls State (26-24), and Missouri (28-27). The victory against Missouri came on a touchdown in the final 89 seconds.
“We have got to move on to another tough task (of) playing an undefeated Georgia team at home,” Freeze said. “We need our crowd to show up and be extremely loud. We need a boost from them this Saturday. That is a challenge.
“Our kids are competing extremely hard, and we need our people to really get their rest Friday night to be packed in the stadium on Saturday early to give us an extra boost and be the 12th man we need to show up for these young men.”
Freeze said the morale on the team has been good despite the fact Ole Miss likely has been eliminated from consideration for the College Football Playoff.
“We can’t wait to get back out, can’t wait to play another difficult opponent,” Freeze said. “Kirby (Smart) has done a great job early on, 3-0 start, beat a really quality North Carolina and a Missouri team, and had a tough battle in week two that they found a way to win. They are believing they can get that done, so it is going to be another great challenge. We knew September was going to be this way, and it is time for us to get back out and find a way to finish a game.”
Freeze said the team goals remain the same for the remainder of the season. Ole Miss understands it has a national ranking and that it still can win a SEC championship and earn a spot in the New Year’s Six.
“We’re not big on setting goals,” Freeze said. “We’re big on what can I do today that proves my commitment to help us get to wherever were going, whatever that is. I am not sure that expectations are what they are and I think people get spoiled and people want you to be perfect every week and you’re not going to be. Being and becoming relevant, I think it creates an expectation and that expectation results in winning celebrations and disappointing losses.
“Our program has moved forward in the time we have been here and we have a chance to beat some of the nation’s best. You have to give them credit, too. They make plays, they keep fighting, but we’ve got a find a way to grow up and finish games and coach better in those situations. I think our kids will bounce back fine. Our goal is week to week, prepare to win.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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