Hugh Freeze reveals his go-to tradition for changing Ole Miss football luck at halftime
NASHVILLE — If you oversee the offensive line for former Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze, you'd better arrive on gameday with an extra set of slacks – just ask Matt Luke.
In Freeze's first game in charge of Ole Miss in 2012, the Rebels trailed Central Arkansas 20-14 at halftime. Luke changed his threads, and the Rebels went on to win 49-27. Bo Wallace threw for 264 yards in that game, and three different Rebels rushed for at least 50 yards.
For Freeze, a tradition was born.
"It wasn't going well and (Luke) changed all his clothes, and we rolled up a bunch of numbers the second half," said Freeze, now in his first season as coach of Auburn, during his appearance Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "From that point on in our entire five years together, Matt knew he had to change his clothes at halftime if things weren't going well."
He carried that custom with him to Liberty, where he amassed a 34-15 overall record to earn him a second shot in the SEC at Auburn, where he'll continue the custom.
The revelation came when Freeze was asked about his reputation in the game for making good halftime adjustments.
Freeze saves some things for the second half on occasion, and feels he's a good study when it comes to figuring out what the opposing coach might try to do.
But maybe the real key is a fresh pair of pants that aren't even his.
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"I make my O-line coach change his clothes at halftime if we're not doing well," Freeze said. "I don't know if that helps, but I do."
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hugh Freeze on bizarre halftime custom started at Ole Miss football
