Ole Miss coach: "War Eagle"

Hugh Freeze loves his Ole Miss Rebels. But on Saturday, he’ll also be a fan of another SEC team.

If Auburn upsets Alabama in the Iron Bowl and Ole Miss beats rival Mississippi State, Ole Miss would win the SEC West and go to the SEC Championship Game.

Freeze, Ole Miss’ head coach, is well aware of that. So he ended his weekly press conference Monday with a popular Auburn chant: “War Eagle.”

As Hugh Freeze walked out of the press conference today he jokingly said “War Eagle.” The Rebels need Auburn to beat Alabama for SEC hopes.

— David Brandt (@davidbrandtAP) November 23, 2015

Nevertheless, Freeze’s focus this Saturday will be on his own team. No. 19 Ole Miss (8-3, 5-2 in the SEC) will face No. 23 Mississippi State (8-3, 4-3) at 7:15 p.m. ET on the Bulldogs’ home field. The game will be shown on ESPN2.

That game will be starting right around the time that the Alabama-Auburn game (which starts at 3:30 p.m. ET) ends. The Rebels will be interested in the final score of the Iron Bowl, but probably won’t have time to look for a final score until after their game.