Ole Miss has concerns entering stretch run

The Ole Miss Rebels have become the box-of-chocolates team in Southeastern Conference football.

The Rebels showed they could knock off Alabama in Tuscaloosa. On other Saturdays, however, they have been overwhelmed in double-digit losses to Florida and Memphis.

Considering the Florida and Memphis setbacks have occurred since the win in Bryant-Denny Stadium, there is plenty of concern to accompany the erratic play in Hugh Freeze's fourth season as coach in Oxford.

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"There is something missing for sure, and that's my responsibility," Freeze said in a news conference after Saturday's loss in the Liberty Bowl. "Not to take anything away from Memphis, because they're a good football team, but we're obviously not locked in totally. We are not playing particularly well, and it's very disappointing."

Ole Miss began this season crushing the inferior likes of UT-Martin and Fresno State and then validated the optimism in Freeze's fourth go-around with a 43-37 triumph at Alabama on Sept. 19. The Rebels capitalized on five Crimson Tide turnovers to defeat Alabama in consecutive years for the first time in program history, and they vaulted to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.

The following week resulted in a tougher-than-expected victory over Vanderbilt, and an Oct. 3 trip to Florida resulted in a 38-10 humbling. Last weekend's 37-24 loss to the Tigers of the American Athletic Conference left the Rebels No. 24 and vulnerable for further plummeting with a closing stretch of Texas A&M, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU and Mississippi State.

"It just seems like ever since the Alabama game, we just have to find ourselves," senior safety Trae Elston told reporters in Memphis. "I really can't explain what we've lost."

Three of the biggest questions facing Ole Miss before the season were whether quarterback Chad Kelly could be more consistent than predecessor Bo Wallace, whether star receiver Laquon Treadwell could excel following last November's gruesome injury against Auburn and if the Rebels could develop a more potent running game.

Kelly and Treadwell have answered the first two queries. Kelly has averaged 310.3 passing yards a game and has racked up 14 touchdowns to just three interceptions, while Treadwell has 35 receptions for 510 yards and is coming off a 14-catch performance in Memphis, which is a single-game school standard.

The Ole Miss ground game, however, has been putrid in big games and is getting worse. The Rebels outlasted Alabama despite gaining only 92 yards on 32 carries, and they had 69 yards on 33 rushes at Florida and just 40 yards on 24 rushes at Memphis.

Freeze was asked Saturday if the Rebels might need to abandon the run altogether.

"Maybe so," he said. "We'll have to evaluate that and see what we think."

Injuries have affected Ole Miss as much as any team in the SEC. Senior nose tackle Isaac Gross is out for the season with a neck injury, while junior safety Tony Conner and senior linebacker C.J. Johnson are missing time due to knee surgeries.

Junior defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who has been used on offense this season, suffered a concussion on a carry against Memphis and is being evaluated this week along with Elston.

Throw in the seven-game NCAA suspension that is now over for junior left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and it's been quite a season for off-the-field chaos. The Rebels still control their destiny in the SEC West race - something only LSU can say as well - but they host Texas A&M this week with far more questions than answers after their latest loss.

"Memphis came out to play and played harder than us," Elston said. "They wanted to win more than us. We've just got to check ourselves, because a lot of people on our team didn't have their hearts into it."

A loss to the Aggies would all but end the Ole Miss hopes of continuing the improvement after the 7-6, 8-5 and 9-4 records of Freeze's first three seasons.

The Rebels are 6-4 in their last 10 games dating back to November 2014, with a 31-17 Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State and the win in Tuscaloosa serving as the highs. The lows include losing 30-0 at Arkansas, trailing TCU 42-0 after three quarters in the Peach Bowl, trailing Florida 38-3 and giving up 31 straight points to Memphis.

Chocolates, anyone?

"We'll show great resolve and leadership and move forward," Freeze said in Monday's news conference. "We'll shut out the negativity and remain true to our core values. Our theme this year is 'Take a Stand,' and this is a great teaching moment for our young men in their lives."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.