Following the 2012 season, there was an atypical amount of excitement surrounding an Ole Miss team that had just gone 7-6 in Hugh Freeze’s first year as head coach. They’d gone 0-5 against top-25 squads (in terms of S&P+), but nearly beat Texas A&M at home and LSU on the road, losing by a combined nine points. Their 19-point loss in Tuscaloosa was closer than the score indicated and gave us an unforgettable, self-serving Nick Saban rant about the perils of the no-huddle offense.
After two years of being embarrassed by top SEC opponents under Houston Nutt, Ole Miss fans were excited to see their team staying in games with the conference’s elite.