The Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3, 2-3) will host the Liberty Flames (7-1) and head coach Hugh Freeze on Saturday in Fayetteville.
Freeze coached Ole Miss from 2012-2016 and he resigned from the position in July of 2017 after personal misconduct issues.
During his tenure with the Rebels, Freeze had a 2-3 record against the Razorbacks.
Here is everything he had to say about playing the Hogs again, head coach Sam Pittman, his relationship with defensive coordinator Barry Odom and more during his Monday Press conference:
Opening statement:
The Flames are coming off a bye week, but Freeze knows that it'll be tough facing a roster with the talent that Arkansas has.
"Open week and we got to have a little head start on Arkansas," Freeze said. "The Hogs are going to be a handful for us. When you're playing an SEC roster with a Group of 5 school, it's just tough. It's hard. You can't hardly make any mistakes if you want a chance to be in it."
Freeze later said that the Hogs have better players and they should be favored in the game.
The Razorbacks had a bye week prior to last week's 41-27 win over Auburn, and Freeze said he could tell that helped out against the Tigers.
"They needed an off week a couple weeks ago, and it benefitted them greatly," Freeze said. "They got some guys back on defense this past week against Auburn and they started looking more like themselves."
Freeze joked around by saying he'd rather play the worst team in the FBS than the Hogs this weekend.
"It's going to be a tall, tall task," Freeze said. "It's exciting. I wish we were coming into this ranked 23rd in the country and feeling like — I don't know who's the worst team in the 131 college football teams, but I'd like to be playing them this week and not the Hogs."
Thoughts on Sam Pittman and Kendal Briles:
Freeze was complimentary of Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and the job he's done so far in Fayetteville.
"I have great respect for Sam Pittman," Freeze said. "I don't know him extremely well, but I've always thought that he did a heck of a job recruiting and coaching his guys. Obviously they turnaround at Arkansas from the time he took over is pretty dang incredible."
Along with his respect for Pittman, Freeze had good things to say about Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
"The respect I have for the Briles family and their offensive mind — Kendal's doing a great job there," Freeze said. "Just look at their stats and what they've been ranked in the SEC in both rushing and total yards. They've been very balanced, very tough to defend, scoring points on almost everyone."
On his relationship with Barry Odom:
Freeze mentioned that he became good friends with Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom when Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss.
"He was really good friends with Matt Luke, who was my o-line coach at Ole Miss and a dear friend," Freeze said. "(Odom) was the DC at Memphis. And we played them both years and I said, 'Man, I like this guy.' I liked the way his kids played."
He mentioned that he gained a relationship with Odom when Odom was still at Memphis. Then, when Odom was the Missouri head coach, he would bounce ideas off of Freeze.
"We developed a relationship there and then he went, obviously, to Missouri," Freeze said. "I think it's fair to say he would bounce things off of me from time to time. I like what he thinks about coaching. I like his philosophy, his core values and I just think a lot of him."
Freeze said he and Odom texted back and forth on Monday morning and the two talked about getting together before Saturday's game to chat.
"I am good friends, though, with Barry Odom," Freeze said. "We're really good friends and I think the world of him. He's one of the best coordinators in the game."
Thoughts on Arkansas' offense:
Freeze said he's familiar with Razorback quarterback KJ Jefferson, who is a Mississippi-native.
"KJ, I know him well," Freeze said. "From Sardis, Mississippi. He's as much involved in the run game as he is the pass game, which is a challenge."
Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders — the SEC's leading rusher — and tight end Trey Knox garnered respect from Freeze.
"(Sanders), that running back, he's an SEC dude," Freeze said. "Tight end, (Knox), is a good player."
Freeze mentioned that Arkansas' veteran offensive line will present as big of a challenge as he's faced during his tenure at Liberty.
"You get to the o-line and it's the best we've faced probably in the four years I've been here, I would say," Freeze said. "They're very seasoned, very physical."
Thoughts on Arkansas' defense:
Freeze was asked what keeps him up at night about the Arkansas defense.
"Well they're bigger, faster and stronger," Freeze said. "Barry's got them playing a lot of multiple looks."
The pass rush for Arkansas gave opponents fits to start the season, but it's dropped off a bit. Freeze said he is still worried about it.
"Sacks they're up there and (Eric Gregory) is the man up front, very consistent player for them," Freeze said. "(Drew) Sanders, the transfer from Alabama is a really good player too."
Arkansas defensive backs coach Dominique Bowman played at Lambuth University under Freeze in the late 2000's.
"They also have Dominique Bowman, who was one of my players that I coached," Freeze said. "I think I'm somewhat of a mentor to him. So, I've probably got to change some verbiage, too. Because he played for me and we've talked ball a lot. It's one of those type games."
Thoughts on playing in Fayetteville:
Arkansas will be playing a home game for the first time in over a month, and Freeze said he's preparing his players for the atmosphere.
"I've got a good feeling of what Arkansas will be like," Freeze said. "I showed them how to do the Woo Pig Sooie and Arkansas Razorbacks. You know, you got to get into it. You're going to hear it a lot. So, you've got to get into it and know what you're talking about."
During Freeze's tenure at Ole Miss, he was 0-2 in games played against the Hogs in Fayetteville.
"I've never had success in Fayetteville," Freeze said.
He mentioned that the weather was a factor for both games he lost in Fayetteville.
"I will say this, the two times I've been there, it was the worst weather I think I've ever coached in," Freeze said. "It was awful. My daughters to this day, still they think Fayetteville — back then, they thought we were going to Alaska the way our trips were in late November there when I was at Ole Miss."
The forecast shows a little bit of rain in Fayetteville on Saturday, but luckily for Freeze, it shouldn't be freezing.
"I experience success in Little Rock, but not in Fayetteville," Freeze said. "Hopefully, I hadn't look at the weather, I'm scared to. But I hope it's not like it was the last two times I was there."
On both teams playing against BYU:
Both the Hogs and Flames beat BYU in back-to-back weeks. Arkansas defeated the Cougars 52-35, while Liberty won 41-14.
Freeze said it helps to have the film against a common opponent, but Odom's strategy on defense still makes it tough.
"I wish that Barry was a little more like he was at Memphis, when he was in one front," Freeze said. "Now he's in all kinds of fronts and I'm not sure exactly how he's going to playing us. He's played some teams a bit differently, so we've got to prepare for all of them."
"No question, getting to watch some of that stuff for an extra week — I don't know that we can block them or have the right calls or anything, but I do feel like I have an understanding of what he's trying to do when he's getting in his odd fronts or his load fronts or his even fronts," Freeze said. "But there's a lot of moving parts with it. We'll have to get in the game and figure out how he's going to play us. But it certainly didn't hurt that we got to watch that much of them."
