Freeze and the Rebels prepare for trip to The Swamp

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is excited about the trip to “The Swamp” to face Florida Saturday–the same feeling he had when the Rebels traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama two weeks ago. Freeze thrives on big tests such as this, saying: “These games, just like I said the other week, test you and your team. It’s going to be a tremendous test for us, but we’re excited for the opportunity and look forward to Saturday night.”

WR Laquon Treadwell and the Ole Miss receiving corps will test the Florida secondary. (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)

But with banged up bodies all around, is Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) ready for its battle against the 25th-ranked Gators (6 p.m. CT on ESPN), who are riding high after their 28-27 come from behind win over Tennessee last Saturday?

Freeze definitely thinks so.

“We will be in a great place this Saturday,” Freeze said. “It will take great preparation and leadership in the locker room for us to be successful. Many of them stood up and talked about the expectations for this week and for preparing. I’m really liking what I hear. Hopefully we will see the fruits of that this week.”

Ole Miss leads all-time series with Gators

This is the 24th meeting all-time between the Rebels and Gators. Ole Miss leads the series, posting a 12-10-1 series lead–including a 6-3-1 mark in Gainesville. Ole Miss is 2-0 in its last two games at The Swamp.

Most Rebels’ fans will recall the last time the two teams played. The year was 2008 and the Rebels were the underdogs. However, they marched into Gainesville and stunned Florida with a 31-30 win over the then No. 4-ranked Gators, who were led by Heisman Trophy winner and national championship winning quarterback Tim Tebow.

This season, Ole Miss comes into the matchup a 7.5-point favorite, looking forward to shaking off some of the mistakes they made against Vanderbilt. “We have some things we need to improve on,” Freeze said at his weekly press conference Monday. “Hopefully we can get healthy, so we can get them excited for a trip to Gainesville.”

Injury updates:

All sounds good for Ole Miss, but it will be missing some key players for the game against the Gators:

Tony Conner: Freeze has heard great things about his starting free safety. Conner is just a week removed from a successful surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee he suffered in the team’s win against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“I saw Conner (yesterday) and didn’t get to speak with him,” Freeze said. “I’ll have to get an update, but I’m sure I would have heard if things had not been going well.

Justin Bell: As for starting right guard Justin Bell, he will be on the sideline watching as third-ranked Ole Miss tries to win its fifth game of the season. Freeze indicated his starting right guard will be on the sideline watching as No. 3 Ole Miss tries to win its fifth straight game of the season. “We don’t expect to have Justin Bell,” Freeze said. “He hasn’t been able to practice yet. We’ll probably be without him also.”

Rod Taylor: Freeze said Rod Taylor is going to try playing; however, Freeze also indicated he and his staff are keeping up with the number of games Rod plays in case they need to look at a medical redshirt for him. “Rod Taylor is going to go,” said Freeze. “He’s looked better. He’s going to give it a shot, for sure,” Freeze continued. “There’s some things he’s good at, and there’s others he’s still coming along with. But he’s definitely better than he’s been.

Robert Conyers: The Rebels should have Robert Conyers for the game Saturday, with Freeze adding: “Robert Conyers is going to gut it out. He’s a tough dude. He’ll go.”

The matchup with the Gators

The Rebels’ offensive line will need to protect QB Kelly against the Gators, who are ranked 4th in the SEC in total defense. (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)

The Rebels will need healthy bodies on the offensive front to contain a Gators’ defense that has allowed 18.2 points per game and ranks fourth in the SEC in total defense, allowing 298.2 yards per outing. It has also registered 108 yards in sacks and four interceptions.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly leads the SEC in passing yards (1,219), total offense (319.0 yards per game) and yards per completion (17.17). He also ranks second in the SEC in points responsible for (78), passing touchdowns (10) and yards per pass attempt (10.6).

“Going into this week, this is a team that has dramatically upgraded their explosive playmaking ability at every spot,” Gators coach Jim McElwain said.

And Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) has done so, too.

Redshirt freshman Will Grier has taken great care of the football, throwing only three interceptions and has completed 62 of 99 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns. But Grier and company will have to play a solid game to dethrone the highly-explosive Rebels.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to try to come out of The Swamp with a win,” McElwain said.

Still no word on Tunsil

As of Thursday morning, offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil will miss his fifth straight game while the NCAA investigates the future NFL draft pick. Freeze was hoping to hear more about the situation this week, but indicated he still hasn’t heard back from the NCAA.

“I asked the same question this morning,” Freeze said when he was asked about Tunsil, who was a preseason All-SEC First Team selection. “Again, I have been told that a lot of progress has been made and they are really trying to get him back on the field as soon as possible.”

The Rebels and Gators face off at 6:00 C.T. Saturday in Gainesville. The game will be televised on ESPN. 

(Feature image credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)