Ole Miss on Track for Best-Ever Finish Under Hugh Freeze After Big Win over LSU

The month of November hasn't always been kind to Ole Miss under head coach Hugh Freeze.

In his first season, back in 2012, the Rebels dropped three straight SEC games to open the month—including a 41-35 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge. In 2013, Ole Miss only scored 10 points in back-to-back late November losses to Missouri and rival Mississippi State.

And last year, the Rebels lost a heartbreaker to Auburn on November 1, followed by a 30-0 blowout defeat at the hands of Arkansas two weeks later. 

Earlier this month, Arkansas knocked off Ole Miss again, this time in a wild overtime shootout that featured a pair of incredible breaks for the Razorbacks.

But instead of dropping another game in yet another November slump, the Rebels left no doubt that things are going to be different this time around with a 38-17 takedown of rival LSU.

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One of the biggest differences between this year's Rebels and Freeze's three other teams at Ole Miss has been the offensive production behind quarterback Chad Kelly.

Kelly had 361 yards of total offense and four touchdowns—two passing and two rushing—and broke a couple of school records in the process, as Ole Miss Football pointed out:

And the Ole Miss offense's efficiency with Kelly at the helm Saturday was somehow even more impressive than the signal-caller's big individual numbers.

Against LSU, Ole Miss averaged 6.6 yards per play and was a perfect 5-of-5 in scoring on trips to the red zone. After throwing an interception in six straight games earlier this season, Kelly was pick-free Saturday, just like he was against Arkansas.

Ole Miss' only turnover of the game came on special teams, when Jaylen Walton fumbled a third-quarter kickoff return.

That level of ball control is a far cry from what the Rebels had at the end of last season, when they turned the ball over a combined 12 times against Auburn, Arkansas and Peach Bowl opponent TCU.

Kelly also played a key role in settling down some Ole Miss nervousness in the second half.

When LSU rattled off 17 unanswered points midway through the contest, Ole Miss only had a touchdown lead early in the third quarter.

The quarterback simply got the Rebels back on track with a seven-play, 83-yard scoring drive that only took 2:25 off the clock. Kelly was responsible for all 83 of those yards, including the 11 that came on this hard-earned rushing touchdown (h/t Campus Insiders):

From that point on, Ole Miss stayed strong on defense, even without the likes of linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, defensive end Fadol Brown and safety CJ Hampton, as USA Today's LSU Beat Writer Glenn Guibeau noted:

The Tigers racked up more yards than the Rebels, thanks to some big passing gains when the game was already out of reach, but total yardage can be an overrated stat.

More importantly, Ole Miss forced three turnovers and stopped LSU on fourth down three different times—including a fourth-quarter stand that started with a 1st-and-goal situation at the 1-yard line.

Ole Miss nearly had another turnover and another goal-line stand in the third quarter, but Leonard Fournette's fumble somehow squirted into the hands of LSU offensive lineman Will Clapp in the end zone. Coach Freeze was proud of his defense's performance, as his comments, courtesy of Ole Miss Spirit's Ben Garrett, illustrated: 

Fournette, the former Heisman front-runner, had 4.3 yards per carry against Ole Miss, which was his second-lowest count of the season.

The Rebels contained the LSU rushing threat and forced Brandon Harris to go to the air often. The LSU sophomore completed just 26 of his 51 passing attempts and threw a pair of interceptions.

The complete team win against LSU will give Ole Miss a huge boost heading into next week's Egg Bowl matchup with Mississippi State.

Dan Mullen's Bulldogs will be a much-stiffer test on offense than what Ole Miss got from reeling LSU on Saturday, but their defense has allowed at least 31 points in back-to-back games against Alabama and Arkansas. The Rebels speed and variety of weapons will be huge away from home.

And if the Rebels win in Starkville and get some major help from Auburn against red-hot Alabama, they'll be playing in the SEC Championship Game in two weeks. Neal McCready discussed the Rebels need for Auburn to beat Alabama in the upcoming Iron Bowl:

But even if Auburn can't pull off the miracle, another rivalry win over the Bulldogs and a strong finish in whatever bowl game Ole Miss draws will be huge for the program.

Ole Miss honored a large group of impact seniors Saturday afternoon, and several star underclassmen will probably follow them out the door and into the NFL. 

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

As Gary Danielson said on the CBS broadcast Saturday, Freeze will be able to point to the amount of talent the Rebels will put into the NFL draft and use it to bolster recruiting this offseason.

A winning streak to end the 2015 campaign instead of another losing skid would give the Rebels who will stay on campus for the 2016 season some much-needed momentum.

Combined, those two advantages would put Ole Miss in a great spot for 2016.

Disappointing losses earlier in the season may have knocked Ole Miss out of contention for every team's ultimate goal—the national championship—but the Rebels' foundation for the future with Freeze strengthened Saturday afternoon with a three-touchdown win over LSU.

With this win, Ole Miss will have a chance to finish 2015 with something more than those coveted bragging rights.

Game statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. Unless otherwise noted, other statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.