Hugh Freeze and Bo Wallace's Incredible Rise from Arkansas State to Top of SEC

What if I told you that the story of Ole Miss' monumental upset of Alabama began 150 miles from Oxford, Mississippi, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. 

It was there, at Arkansas State, in the town of 71,551, where then-Red Wolves offensive coordinator Hugh Freeze and redshirt quarterback Bo Wallace first began their football relationship in 2010.

After a few detours—Wallace to East Mississippi Community College—the two reunited at Ole Miss in 2012.

In one of his first acts as Ole Miss head coach, Freeze signed Wallace—who had just led EMCC to a junior college national championship—to run his hurry-up, no-huddle offense. 

"He needed to mature," Freeze told AL.com regarding Wallace's decision to go the junior college route. "He needed to grow up, like a lot of us do when we get out of high school."

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In his his first two seasons in Oxford, Wallace was good—but not remarkable—throwing for 40 touchdowns and 27 interceptions while fighting shoulder injuries during both seasons. His wild inconsistencies earned Wallace the nickname "Dr. Bo" in the Internet world.

"Good Bo" showed up on Saturday in Oxford, completing 18 of 31 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns and—most importantly—zero interceptions in a 23-17 win over No. 3 Alabama.

"Sometimes these kids take way more criticism than they deserve," Freeze said in quotes emailed by Ole Miss. "I don’t know that they get the equal treatment on the other side of it. In the second half, he made some big-time plays. He just played so solid. On that last touchdown, that ball was right where it needed to be for us."

The win not only made Ole Miss (5-0, 2-0 SEC) a legitimate player in the SEC for the first time since the Manning years but also a contender in the national-championship picture.

That meteoric rise is something that surprises even Freeze.

"If someone would have told me my first spring that we got here that we'd win 15 games and two bowl games, inheriting a team that hadn't won an SEC game and won only two games the previous year, I'd have been thrilled," he told Bleacher Report this spring.

When he took control of the Ole Miss program, it was coming off a 2-10 season under former head coach Houston Nutt and was widely considered the doormat of the SEC West.

If Freeze thought he was ahead of schedule before this season, he better buckle up.

Things are about to speed up.

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How did it get here?

Freeze talked about "it" during his introductory press conference (via OleMissSports.com):

"

Here very shortly when you walk into our offensive meeting room and you ask them what our "it" is, it will be to be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine. When you walk into our defensive room every one of them will say that "it" is to relentlessly pursue the football and to knock the ever-loving stink out of their opponents. That will be our "it".

Our special teams "it" will be to provide the winning edge. When you talk about recruiting our coaches will clearly understand that we are establishing dynamic relationships with everyone that is involved in our decision making process. We will win a championship. We have to win the state in recruiting and it will start with great coaches.

To the Rebel nation the "it" is really simple. We have to be united as one. I understand where things are. I told our team today that we understand that we are in the wilderness and we have to realize why we are here and how we are going to get out.

"

As Lars Anderson pointed out earlier in the week in his tremendous feature, recruiting played a big factor for Freeze and his staff. In three short recruiting cycles, the staff made Oxford a destination location not just for prospects in the state of Mississippi but for top-tier prospects around the country. 

He plucked 5-star defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche out of suburban Atlanta. Stud wide receiver Laquon Treadwell? He's from Illinois. Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil hails from Lake City, Florida.

Those are not exactly places Ole Miss is known for making recruiting waves. 

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Add in a stifling "landshark" defense and special teams that swarm to the ball and force key turnovers—like the two against the Crimson Tide on Saturday—and Freeze has the recipe for success.

And this is not just short-term success; it's long-term success.

This is a team that Freeze recruited with short- and long-term goals in mind. The players from those classes, including Dr. Bo, Treadwell and Nkemdiche—who owned real estate in Alabama's backfield on Saturday—are all playing his way—the Ole Miss way.

This is not a team that's a flash in the pan or one-hit-wonder. The Rebels are in the national spotlight to stay, according to Treadwell (via Scout.com's Ben Garrett):

Ole Miss has been building to this moment for nearly three years, a moment when the eyes of the nation were on the program. That announcement occurred over a four-hour stretch at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday afternoon: "It" is here.

As CoachingSearch.com's Chris Vannini points out, Saturday's win will only help get the program to where Freeze wants it to be:

Scoring efficiency, hard-hitting defense, the winning edge on special teams and dynamic recruiting? Freeze has "it" figured out.

Because of "it," this program isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Well, except maybe to Atlanta in early December.

Barrett Sallee is the Lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.