Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze had been patiently waiting for a complete game.
It finally came Saturday when then-No. 23 Ole Miss defeated then-No. 12 Georgia 45-14 in a Southeastern Conference game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
With the mental hurdle of playing for four quarters cleared, No. 16 Ole Miss (2-2) will face another huge challenge at 6 p.m.
Saturday when it plays host to Memphis (3-0) in its Homecoming game. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 or SEC Network Alternate.
“Sunday for us is always about the truth how we performed and how we measured up to the expectations we have set in this program,” Freeze said. “It was good to share a lot of good things with our kids about the way they performed against a top-15 team like Georgia. There were some really good things. I thought our quarterbacks play was outstanding after watching film. Taking care of the ball, making good decisions, there was one questionable decision I thought we made.
“I thought we were efficient running the football. We were on the negative side of the truth; we were not good on third down, but some of that is skewed a little bit by the score and us just managing the game there from the latter part of the third quarter on. We were an efficient offense.”
Ole Miss started fast Saturday with a seven-play, 69-yard drive which ended with a field goal, followed by 52-yard interception return by Derrick Jones. An 84-yard drive ended with a touchdown that made it 17-0.
At halftime, Ole Miss led 31-0. However, the Rebels already had seen 21-point leads evaporate in losses to top-five foes Florida State and Alabama. The defense responded and kept the shutout going until the final five minutes of the third quarter.
“Defensively, we were very good on third down, which was exciting to see,” Freeze said. “We had a turnover and a pick six, which is great to see. I thought we stopped their run game early on in the game; it kind of set the tone and did not allow them to be two-dimensional, and there were some good things there also. We gave up too many rushing yards again for our comfort. We have got to continue to work on our fits in that regard, but didn’t give up explosive plays.”
“There actually wasn’t a single explosive play that we gave up Saturday, which is big. We had been susceptible to some of that. This week will test us in that regard again.”
Quarterback Chad Kelly was 18 of 24 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels averaged just under 6 yards per rush.
Ole Miss will need a similar complete effort to slow down Memphis, which is coming off a 77-3 victory against Bowling Green. The Tigers finished with 635 yards of offense. For the season, Memphis is averaging 51 points per game.
“This team is really explosive on offense,” Freeze said. “They are kind of like us and take chances to get a lot of explosive plays. Our kicking game was much improved, our punters put the ball where we needed it to be against a very dangerous return guy and our kickoff unit was solid with the exception of one. I thought Nathan (Noble) did a good job of keeping it solid and our punters did a really nice job of keeping it to where our coverage was designed in the punt game. It was our best complete game thus far and we did nothing to give up momentum which I think happened in the two losses we have had, due to turnovers, which I was pleased to see.”
“We celebrate the good times, we learn in the difficult times, we learn in the good times, but it is a lot more fun to learn when you have a win. We’re excited to play Memphis this week. They are a very confident football team that has won a lot of games in the last few years.”
Memphis is under the direction of first-year coach Mike Norvell. Freeze said the program is basically the same with a few minor tweaks.
“Justin (Fuente) did a great job there, and now Mike (Norvell) has obviously been carrying it on,” Freeze said. “They put up some crazy numbers offensively and defensively and they are playing very, very good football. It is going to be a great test. I am excited to have the first night game in our stadium. I expect it to take it up another level for our fans. We need them desperately to make it difficult for opponents to play here, particularly on a Saturday night. I guess I am challenging our people to make it a very difficult atmosphere here Saturday night when Memphis comes here.”
A year ago, Memphis made headlines with a 37-24 upset win at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Freeze said the Rebels locked in early with their preparation because the Tigers have plenty of weapons on offensive weapons and because they want to erase the memory of the 2015 meeting.
“I will probably get a sense of that as the week goes on,” Freeze said. “I don’t think anytime you talk about revenge or any of those things they are very helpful so I am not big on that. I am about preparing as good as we can prepare to play a very good Memphis team, and I know that the game means a lot to our fan base and their fan base so some emotion comes with that, hopefully for our kids, too.
“We won’t get into talking about we’ve got to do this because of last year; I am not a big fan of that. Hopefully our kids will understand it is an important game and is one that should have our full attention for sure.”
NOTE: Sophomore Jordan Sims was named Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office Monday.
The Rebels’ starting right guard helped his team record 510 yards of offense, the Rebels’ second-straight game with more than 500 against a nationally ranked SEC foe. Ole Miss converted all four red-zone attempts in the game and have now converted 17 of 18 chances this season. The Rebel line surrendered just one sack against the Bulldogs.
The big win featured the Rebels’ most points and largest margin of victory ever against Georgia. It was also the largest margin of victory against a nationally ranked team since Ole Miss downed No. 3 Tennessee 38-0 in 1969.
Sims, a native of Homewood, Alabama, is the first Rebel to receive an SEC weekly honor this season.
Senior quarterback Chad Kelly pulled in a pair of honors on Monday, too. He was named to the Davey O’Brien “Great 8” list and was named Honorable Mention National Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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