Hugh Freeze has experienced success coaching against three Southeastern Conference head coaches that are playing in New Year’s Six bowl games this season.
Freeze is 18-6 with two bowl victories in as many seasons as Liberty’s head coach.
He was 39-25 from 2012-16 at Ole Miss.
While at Ole Miss, Freeze was 3-2 against Dan Mullen and Mississippi State, 2-3 versus Nick Saban’s Alabama teams and 1-0 taking on Kirby Smart at Georgia.
“I was fortunate to beat people like Nick Saban and Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen, that are in that league and with probably a lesser roster than what they had,” Freeze said during a media availability ahead of Liberty’s bowl game against Coastal Carolina.
Following Liberty’s 37-34 overtime victory over Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl, Freeze was a guest on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
Breaking down Steve Sarkisian’s offense
Finebaum asked Freeze about Alabama’s offense during the 2020 season under coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
The Crimson Tide have two Heisman Trophy finalists this season in quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Running back Najee Harris is fifth amongst top 10 finishers in the 2020 Heisman Trophy voting.
“I don’t watch many teams on film because I’m obviously pretty consumed with who we are, and would like to think that we know what we’re doing offensively, and I think the stats over my ten or so years in the college game prove that we do,” Freeze said. “I will tell you this, there is one team that my video coordinator will have cued up for me on Sundays when I come in to watch, and it’s Alabama. Sarkisian is great gameday play-caller, and you’ve put together the best of the best – offensive line, tight ends, receivers and quarterbacks – that they’ve had over the last few years, and you see what’s happening because they have expanded their offense to what I consider to be the up to date version of offensive football.
“It is so difficult because you have to put an extra guy accounting to the run, to stop their run game. With the quality of offensive line and tailbacks that they have, and it just forces you to be in too many one-on-one situations with the receivers that they have. It will take an absolute elite defense to slow them down – and really I don’t know if that is really a possibility. My goal, if I were coaching the defense that had to play them, would be to work all week long, on what are we going to do when they get to the 25-yard line because here is the key – we have to hold them to some field goals.”
Vols Wire previously provided a breakdown of Freeze’s offenses by the numbers since he has been a head coach at the FBS level.
“I will never change what we do offensively. I don’t know all but what we’ve done, it’s had success everywhere we’ve been. It’s what I am familiar with and what I feel comfortable calling the game with, so we’re doing the same stuff.” — Hugh Freeze on the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days”
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