By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Looking back at Ole Miss’ 2014 season.

Summary — It was an eventful season for the Rebels, who opened the year 7-0, received multiple first place votes in mid-October and debuted at four in the first-ever College Football Playoff poll. A historic 23-17 triumph over Alabama was the highlight of the year. Ole Miss dropped consecutive close to games at LSU and to Auburn, the latter coming on an unfortunate injury-turned-fumble at the goaline, in contests decided by a total of seven points. The Rebels later lost to Arkansas, giving them three league defeats in a row. The Egg Bowl, however, came with redemption as Ole Miss knocked off rival Mississippi State 31-17 to end the regular season. Though a lopsided loss to TCU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl was far from how the Rebels wanted to finish the year, Hugh Freeze’s team, playing a very difficult schedule, finished as high as 17th in the rankings and won nine games for the first time since 2009. No team in college football allowed fewer points than Ole Miss, who led the nation in scoring defense.

Biggest Surprise — The 7-0 start was quite impressive, given that the Rebels had to beat Alabama and Tennessee, win at Texas A&M and upended non-conference foes Boise State and Memphis, who combined for 22 wins, to get there. Ole Miss’ victory over the Crimson Tide was the program’s first win ever over a top-ranked team and snapped a ten-game losing streak in the series. After defeating the Volunteers, the Rebels moved to 7-0 for the second time in school history.

Biggest Disappointment — Ole Miss got down a touchdown just one minute into the Peach Bowl against TCU, a game which never was close. The Rebels compiled only 129 total yards, including nine rushing yards on 37 attempts, and turned the ball over four times. By early in the third quarter, the Horned Frogs, who felt like they should have been in the College Football Playoff, held a six touchdown lead. A 42-3 TCU victory was the end result.

Stat of the Year — Opponents ran the football 513 times against Ole Miss and scored just nine rushing touchdowns, an average of one score every 57 attempts. That defensive margin was the second best ratio in all of college football.

Offensive MVP — Laremy Tunsil, OT

Defensive MVP — Senquez Golson, CB

Rising Star — Marquis Haynes, DE