Without a doubt, the highlight of Ole Miss’ 2015 season was its 43-37 win at Alabama on Sept. 19. And despite some bumps along the way, the Rebels (9-3) are still having a good year. It hasn’t felt quite like 2014, when Ole Miss started 7-0 en route to a Top-3 ranking before stumbling to a 9-4 finish, but it’s come pretty close.

As the Rebels prepare for their final game — a projected matchup against TCU in the Sugar Bowl — it’s time to assess whether this year has been an improvement or disappointment compared with last season.

High points: The Rebels clearly had an incredible season on offense. They’ve scored a school-record 483 points and led the SEC in scoring at 40.3 points per game thanks to Chad Kelly’s terrific campaign. The former Clemson and East Mississippi Community College QB has set Ole Miss records in the following categories: total TDs (37), passing yards (3,740), 100-yard games (8).

Kelly’s go-to guy was Laquon Treadwell, who had an incredible year of his own. After suffering a season-ending broken leg in last year’s loss to Auburn, Treadwell has bounced back to lead the SEC in receiving yards (1,082), finish second in catches (76) and tied for third in TD receptions (8).  He also had a school-record five-game streak with at least 100 receiving yards and he added a six-game stretch with at least one touchdown, another Ole Miss mark.

As a team, the Rebels entered last week with a chance to win the SEC West for the first time before Alabama clinched it by beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl. But, not only did Ole Miss finish second in the division, which exceeded SEC media types’ preseason expectations, the Rebels completed back-to-back seasons with winning conference records for the first time since 1989-1990.

Low points: The Rebels’ three losses top this list. Ole Miss’ 38-10 defeat at Florida on Oct. 3 was a bitter pill to swallow, especially since the Gator QB who played in that game, Will Grier, threw 4 TD passes before being suspended for the season nine days later for failing an NCAA drug test after using a banned substance.

The Rebels’ 37-24 loss at Memphis on Oct. 17 was stunning to begin with, but it has become all the more surprising considering the Tigers split their final six games after a 6-0 start. However, according to Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, losing 53-52 to Arkansas in overtime at home was his team’s toughest defeat.

“If there’s one negative, we’re a 4th-and-25 from going to Atlanta,” Freeze said, referring to the fourth-down conversion by Arkansas in overtime that helped the Razorbacks beat the Rebels 53-52. “Now, we could dwell on that and the ‘what-ifs’ and all of that, but I think it speaks volumes of where we’ve come in just our four years here. It kind of stinks, but we’ll go to a great bowl game somewhere.”

The Rebels are potentially going to a great bowl game despite having to overcome some major obstacles. Ole Miss had to play the first seven games without standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was suspended for allegations he violated NCAA rules.

In the loss to Memphis, star defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, who has two rushing TDs and one receiving score this season, suffered a concussion while on offense, which knocked him out of the loss to the Tigers and kept him out of the following week’s 23-3 victory over Texas A&M. Plus, Robert’s brother Denzel has missed the past two games after being hospitalized for an undisclosed reason.

Final analysis: It hasn’t been easy, but Ole Miss is still in position to build on its success from 2014.

Like last year, before they lost 42-3 to TCU in the Peach Bowl, the Rebels have a chance to post their first 10-win season since 2003.

They’ve won back-to-back Egg Bowls for the first time since taking three straight from 2002-04. And with their 9-3 performance this year, they appeared headed for a New Year’s Six bowl, which would be an upgrade over their final destination last season.

Ole Miss’ 2015 season is anything but a disappointment. It is, indeed, an improvement over 2014.