Freeze's Rebels are coached sky-high

 Back in August a certain guy who has made a living watching football for more than four decades wrote this:

If Hugh Freeze were to win five games, he ought to be Coach of the Year. If the Rebels win six, they should go ahead and commission a statue. Unfortunately, I think the Rebels are destined for 3-9. Freeze inherits a mess. This is going to take some time.

I stand corrected, but only about the record.

Freeze's Ole Miss Rebels defeated Arkansas 30-27 at Little Rock Saturday to advance to 5-3 on the season. Coach of the Year is certainly not out of the question, because Freeze surely did inherit a mess.

What's really amazing is that the Rebels could just as easily be 6-2 and already bowl eligible had they closed the deal against Texas A & M. By any measure, Freeze and his staff have done a masterful job of coaching up a ballclub that bears little resemblance to last year.

Freeze beat a team that had superior athletes Saturday. That's coaching. The Rebels play hard all the time. That's coaching. They play disciplined and efficiently. That's coaching. They do the little things right. That's coaching. They get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. That's coaching.

What impressed me most about Saturday's effort was the blocking of the Ole Miss wide receivers. They were knocking down Razorbacks like bowling pins. That's coaching and effort. Yes, Jeff Scott sure is fast, but his wide receivers gave him plenty of room to show off that speed. Grant Heard, the Ole Miss wide receivers coach, has coached his guys up.

The Rebels are 5-3 with four games remaining: at Georgia, at home against Vanderbilt, at LSU and at home against Mississippi State. They should get six and they may get more.