While Saturday was a tough night for the Ole Miss football program, the Rebels returned to work Monday determined to make the most of their final three games.

A chance to win the Southeastern Conference Western Division championship and an opportunity to beat a team that could be ranked No. 1 in the nation remain. But a 35-31 loss to then-No. 4 Auburn at home Saturday night effectively took Ole Miss out of the discussion for the national championship.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, No. 12 Ole Miss will play host to Presbyterian at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in its final non-conference game.

“It was a disappointing weekend,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said Monday at his weekly media gathering. “We work with a group of young men, coaches, administration, and fans that love what we do and love how you do it together. … When you put a lot into something like that, it is very hurtful when things don’t go your way. I tweeted out this morning that when you choose to love something it means accepting the inevitable in pain and loss. That’s the way life is. On the other side, when you love something, it gives you some great joy at times and hope. That’s a great lesson for all of us involved in that difficult evening to remember.”

Ole Miss (7-2) dropped five spots in The Associated Press Top 25 after its second-consecutive loss. Last week, the Rebels were in the initial Final Four of the College Football Playoff rankings. That will change later today when the new rankings are released.

In addition to losing to Auburn, Ole Miss lost wide receiver Laquon Treadwell for the season. Treadwell fractured his leg and dislocated an ankle as he attempted to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes. The play initially was ruled a touchdown, but a video review determined Treadwell fumbled at the Auburn 1-yard line and Auburn recovered the ball in the end zone.

Get-well wishes for the sophomore Treadwell have poured in from around the conference and the nation. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen also tweeted similar wishes Sunday morning.

Freeze spent a good part of Sunday at the hospital with his team’s leading receiver.

“Jill (Freeze) and I got up (Sunday) morning early and went to the hospital and hung out with him there,” Freeze said. “A lot of our teammates were there throughout the night, which was good. He had surgery that night. I appreciate our doctors and everybody getting to him that quickly and promptly. The outpouring of love and support that Rebel Nation and others have given him has been heartwarming. When I got there early Sunday morning, he was good. As a competitor and a guy that’s dealing with not being able to play the rest of the year and the fact he was involved in the play that, in his mind, he let us down in some way.”

Treadwell is expected to be out for four months, but Freeze hopes he will be back in time for spring practice. Former Noxubee County High School standout Vince Sanders will be asked to carry a bigger load in the passing game in Treadwell’s absence.

“(Sanders will) handle it well,” Freeze said. “He was very hurt for Laquon. Vince, like we’ve talked about many times, he’s one of the more underrated players in this conference. He continued to win a bunch of one-on-ones the other night. He had some chances for some bigger plays, and we either didn’t get it right to him or we got held.

“We had a couple of calls on that that were good calls. I think Vince will respond extremely well. He had some good things to say in our team meeting yesterday, being a senior and a quiet leader.”

Ole Miss matched one of the league’s best offenses score for score Saturday night. It was a refreshing change from two weeks ago when it had one offensive touchdown in a loss to LSU.

At the end, Auburn made more plays, especially on defense. Bo Wallace fumbled at the Auburn 5-yard line, trying to convert a second-and-1 minutes prior to Treadwell’s fumble.

Still, Wallace feels his team has plenty of fight left. After Presbyterian, Ole Miss will have an off week before it travels to Arkansas and plays host to MSU.

“We don’t feel like we’re out of it,” Wallace said. “We don’t control our destiny anymore, but crazy things can happen in the SEC. A lot of people still have to play each other, so we’re hopeful good things can happen for us, but we can win all our games down the stretch. We have to come in and prepare and come out and have good showings in every game.”

Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.