Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production of the Mississippi Rebels football program during Freeze's tenure as head football coach, along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the average team (sky blue). Mississippi has been trending upward since 2012 except for last season under his tenure. All rankings in this blog come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model. More details about the program under Freeze are after the chart below.
Hugh Freeze (2012 - 2016) [2015 contract]
2012
During Freeze's first year at the helm of the Rebels football team, Mississippi finished the end of the regular season at 6-6 (and were bowl eligible) and defeated to #31 Pittsburgh (38-17) to finish 7-6 overall. Mississippi played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Mississippi was within one standard deviation of the "leagues" SOS. The Rebels best win was over interstate rival #44 ranked Mississippi State (41-24) in the Egg Bowl, and their worst loss was to #53 ranked Texas by a score of (31-66). Mississippi had the #45 ranked team in total production with the #48 ranked offense and the #39 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2013
At the end of the regular season the Rebels were 7-5 (and were bowl eligible) and defeated #43 Georgia Tech (25-17) to finish 8-5 overall. Mississippi played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best victory was against #11 LSU (27-24) and their worst loss was to #47 ranked Mississippi State by a score of (10-17). Mississippi had the #45 ranked team in total production with the #53 ranked offense and the #53 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2014
The Rebels again finished the regular season at 9-3 and were bowl eligible, losing to #1 ranked TCU by a score of (3-42). Mississippi played against a "much tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that their SOS was more than two standard deviations below the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best regular season game was a victory (23-17) over #7 Alabama, and their worst loss was to #31 ranked LSU by a score of (3-10). Overall, the Rebels had the #16 ranked team with the #39 ranked offense and the #12 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
The Rebels again finished the regular season at 9-3 and were bowl eligible, losing to #1 ranked TCU by a score of (3-42). Mississippi played against a "much tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that their SOS was more than two standard deviations below the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best regular season game was a victory (23-17) over #7 Alabama, and their worst loss was to #31 ranked LSU by a score of (3-10). Overall, the Rebels had the #16 ranked team with the #39 ranked offense and the #12 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2015
Mississippi finished the regular season overall at 9-3 (bowl eligible) and defeated by #40 ranked Oklahoma State in their post-season bowl game by a score of (48-20) to finish the season at 10-3. Mississippi played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best game again was their victory over #7 ranked Alabama (43-37), and their worst loss was to #48 ranked Florida (10-38). Mississippi had the #6 ranked team in total production with the #11 ranked offense and the #29 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2016
At the end of the regular season the Rebels were 5-7, and were bowl ineligible for the first time under Freeze's tenure, while playing against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Mississippi had an SOS between one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best win was over #45 ranked Georgia (45-14) and their worst loss was to #85 ranked Arkansas by a score of (30-34). Mississippi had the #83 ranked team in total production with the #56 ranked offense and the #93 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
Mississippi finished the regular season overall at 9-3 (bowl eligible) and defeated by #40 ranked Oklahoma State in their post-season bowl game by a score of (48-20) to finish the season at 10-3. Mississippi played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best game again was their victory over #7 ranked Alabama (43-37), and their worst loss was to #48 ranked Florida (10-38). Mississippi had the #6 ranked team in total production with the #11 ranked offense and the #29 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2016
At the end of the regular season the Rebels were 5-7, and were bowl ineligible for the first time under Freeze's tenure, while playing against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Mississippi had an SOS between one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. The Rebels best win was over #45 ranked Georgia (45-14) and their worst loss was to #85 ranked Arkansas by a score of (30-34). Mississippi had the #83 ranked team in total production with the #56 ranked offense and the #93 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.