With no chance of any postseason games, it’s a bit of a different offseason for Ole Miss.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports caught up with Rebels coach at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla. to ask coach Hugh Freeze about how he’s handing the bowl ban for the 2017 season.

“I’m looking forward to [the bowl ban] in a weird kind of way,” Freeze said. “I have the opportunity to really model for a group of young men how real life can be like when you’re faced something you didn’t ask for.”

While Ole Miss cannot play in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, even if the Rebels were to post a perfect 8-0 conference record, there’s still plenty to play for, according to QB Shea Patterson.

“Ourselves and our pride, the city of Oxford and our fans,” Patterson told Dodd from the Steve Clarkson Quarterback Retreat in Coronado, Calif. “We can be the people’s champions.”

If Ole Miss were to surprise and post the best record in the SEC West, Patterson’s “people’s champions” idea might gain some traction with the school. Earlier this spring, Ole Miss announced plans to name all of its regular-season contests “bowl games,” which was predictably mocked by rival fans on Twitter.

More thoughts from Freeze and Patterson can be found in Dodd’s article here.