COLUMBIA, MO. • Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze can earn one of the rarest merit badges in college coaching this weekend. In Nick Saban’s 20 seasons as a head coach in the college game, only two men have beaten him in three consecutive seasons: Michigan’s Lloyd Carr and Purdue’s Joe Tiller. Freeze can become No. 3.
The other three-game streaks came when Saban coached at Michigan State in the 1990s. Another six coaches have beaten him in two straight seasons: Nebraska’s Tom Osborne, Iowa’s Hayden Fry, Penn State’s Joe Paterno, Florida’s Steve Spurrier, Louisiana State’s Les Miles and … Freeze.