The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football: 2015 Offensive Juggernaut
12/3/2015 | Athletics, Blog
Rebel Offense ShattersSchool Records in Hugh Freeze's Fourth Season
By Adam Kuffner, Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations
When Hugh Freeze was hired as the 37th head coach in OleMiss football history Dec. 5, 2011, then-Chancellor Dan Jones along withcoaching search committee co-chairs Archie Manning and Mike Glenn knew theywere getting one of the best offensive minds in football. Just four years intothe Freeze era in Oxford, the Rebels have built a new normal of expectationsfor Ole Miss Football.
Last year, it was the Landshark defense that led the Rebelsto an inaugural New Year's Six Bowl with the nation's best scoring defense. Fastforward to 2015, it's the offense that has reached record-breaking heights topace the Rebels through another nine-win season (back-to-back 9+ regular-seasonwins for the first time since 1961-62).
Ole Miss started off 2015 on a torrid pace, becoming thefirst SEC team to score 73 or more points in back-to-back games. The 76-3 winover UT Martin in the season opener was the most points in a game since 1935.With that hot start to the season, it was evident that the 12 year-old schoolscoring record (442 in 2003) was going to be broken. That vision came tofruition in the 11th game of the season as the Rebels dominated rival LSU,38-17, in the Magnolia Bowl. One week later, Ole Miss scored 38 points inStarkville for the first time in 34 years to win the Egg Bowl and enter the postseasonscoring a school-record 483 points.
Ole Miss is averaging 40.3 points per game, which leads theSEC and ranks 13th in the nation. The Rebels eclipsed the 50-point plateau fourtimes this season; in the previous 122 years of Ole Miss Football prior to2015, just five times the Rebels managed to score 50+ points more than oncethroughout a season.
To score points, you need to find the end zone. The Rebelsdid that plenty of times throughout the 2015 campaign, scoring a program-record62 touchdowns. In order to get to the end zone, you need to accumulate yardsand drive down the field. How does 6,177 total yards sound? That's how many OleMiss racked up through 12 games this season, the most in the SEC and 11th-mostnationally. Again, the Rebels have themselves another school record. Â
Freeze likes to spread the ball out, and the passing gamehas become the Rebels' bread and butter since his arrival. Senior quarterbackBo Wallace was the starting signal caller for Freeze's first three years at OleMiss. In 2014, Wallace, along with multiple offensive weapons around him,helped Ole Miss earn a bid to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. This year, juniorChad Kelly took the reins of Freeze's playbook and added his name to the list ofgreat quarterbacks at Ole Miss.
After a position battle throughout fall camp, Freeze decidedto give Kelly the start in the first two games, although Ryan Buchanan andDeVante Kincade saw playing time as well. It was in that second contest thatKelly emerged as the clear starter due to his strong, accurate arm accompaniedwith moving the offense down the field like a well-oiled machine. The Buffalo,New York, native continued to do that the following week, leading the Rebels toanother victory over No. 2 Alabama in the first road test of his Ole Misscareer. Beating Alabama in back-to-back seasons for the first time in schoolhistory, Ole Miss made noise throughout the country, once again becomingrelevant.
Kelly continued to impress throughout the rest of theseason, putting up better numbers than any other quarterback in Ole Miss history,including Archie and Eli Manning. He's tallied 3,740 yards through the air andis responsible for 37 touchdowns, both school records that were once held bythe two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli. Kelly's seven 300-yard passing games is also themost by a Rebel quarterback. Speaking of Manning, Kelly was named a finalistfor the Manning Award, which is presented annually to the nation's bestquarterback. His statistics that lead all SEC quarterbacks and rank among thenation's elite have earned Kelly that recognition.
Along with his school-record passing mark, Kelly has alsorushed for 427 yards on the ground. His program-best 4,167 total yards ofoffense is the sixth-most for an individual's season in SEC history. It's allimpressive for someone who is a first-year Rebel.
Of course, Kelly's individual records and the team'soffensive records would not have been reached without a plethora of talentaround the quarterback. Let's start with Laquon Treadwell, who bounced backfrom his devastating injury last season. This year, he's been better than everas a Biletnikoff Award finalist. Treadwell has caught 76 passes for 1,082 yardsand eight touchdowns, including six 100-yard receiving games which is anotherschool record. The Crete, Illinois, native went through a stretch where he wasnearly impossible to stop, catching a touchdown pass in six straight games andgoing over 100 yards receiving in five of them; both achievements had never beenaccomplished before at Ole Miss.
Alongside Treadwell, Kelly distributes the ball at anincredible rate. Ole Miss is one of four teams in the nation with seven or moreplayers who have caught at least 20 passes this season. Quincy Adeboyejo and Damore'eaStringfellow have combined for 12 touchdown receptions, while Cody Core hasadded 553 receiving yards in his final season as a Rebel. Kelly is one of theleading rushers on the team, but the running back trio of Jaylen Walton, AkeemJudd and Jordan Wilkins has produced 1,433 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Of course, the skill players wouldn't have success withoutthe help of the offensive line. Providing protection for Kelly has been aveteran group led by Preseason All-America left tackle Laremy Tunsil and KentHull Trophy winner Fahn Cooper. Seniors Justin Bell, Aaron Morris and Ben Stillare the elder lettermen that are spending their final year at Ole Miss as partof the most prolific offense in school history. Even freshmen Jordan Sims,Javon Patterson and Sean Rawlings have provided plenty of playing time, includingstarts, to assist in the effort.
Football is certainly a team game. The defense and specialteams unit need to play well; however, as Ole Miss awaits its bowl fate, thehigh-powered offense paved the way for a possible berth to the Sugar Bowl. Ifthe season ended today, New Orleans would be the Rebels' bowl destination. OleMiss hasn't played in the Sugar Bowl since 1970, spanning almost half a century.But with Alabama in position to make the College Football Playoff, the Rebelswould earn the bid as the second-highest ranked SEC team.
Wouldn't that be sweet?
