When asked during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference if coaching at Ole Miss is his dream job, Matt Luke didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” Luke said. “Coaching where you played (and) where your dad played, brother played, mother and sister went to school, it adds something to it. Working up the ladder, it does make it special.”

Luke, who played center for the Rebels from 1995-98, was named interim head coach when Hugh Freeze was forced to resign a few months before the 2017 season. He led Ole Miss to a 6-6 record last season, prompting school administrators to remove the interim tag and give him the title of full-time head coach.

The Rebels (5-5, 1-5 SEC) can match last year’s win total with a victory against Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, which would make for a solid season for a program currently on a bowl ban and that only recently had scholarship reductions removed. In the face of such adversity, Luke was also asked Wednesday if coaching for his alma mater gives him any advantages.

“It’s the biggest strength and at times a weakness,” Luke said. “You want to do so well, to fight your way out of the issues we have with the scholarship issues and the injuries, but our guys continue to fight.”