No matter what happens on the field, Ole Miss won’t be going to a bowl game for the second season in a row.

Last year, the Rebels missed out on a bowl after a disappointing 5-7 performance. Not only were they 0-4 vs. ranked opponents, but three of their five Ws came against non-Power 5 foes Wofford, Memphis and Georgia Southern.

Nevertheless, Mississippi could run the table in 2017 and still be home for the holidays. Based on the 21 infractions charged by the NCAA — 13 from the first Notice of Allegations in January 2016, eight more in February’s second notice — the school self-imposed a one-year bowl ban with hopes of calming the storm.

North Carolina has been under investigation for academic fraud seemingly forever, yet there's no end in sight there, either.

The Rebs are waiting for their final punishment to be handed down, and just like Tom Petty sings, “the waiting is the hardest part.”

“I’m pretty certain about the things that are really important to me, and I think that’s where my concentration lies,” coach Hugh Freeze said Tuesday at the SEC’s spring meetings, according to 247Sports. “I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on anything other than that. I’ve really decided to love on my players, my family and the Ole Miss family, put my head down and do the best I can. The rest of it really doesn’t matter.”

Unfortunately, nobody knows when this dark cloud currently hanging above Oxford will pass. North Carolina has been under investigation for academic fraud seemingly forever, yet there’s no end in sight there, either.

The NCAA appears to have less authority than ever before. Everyone thought Miami was in a ton of trouble during the Nevin Shapiro scandal. Some wondered if we’d see the “death penalty” for the first time since SMU. However, the NCAA bungled the case. The Hurricanes only got a slap on the wrist and are back to full health.

Whether the hammer comes down on Ole Miss or the program gets off scot-free, the in-between time has been tough on Freeze.

Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

“I look forward to our release of our side of things,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being able to share that with the committee on infractions when that time comes. And finality. That’s what we need moving forward is finality, and that’s coming soon.”

Clearly, high school prospects are paying attention. The Rebels are no doubt on the business end of some nasty negative recruiting. Conference foes are taking pleasure in pointing out possible worse-case scenarios.

National Signing Day arrived at Mississippi a few months ago not with a bang but a whimper. Freeze was only able to corral the 30th-ranked class in the country — he had zero 5-star signees, three 4-stars and 19 3-stars. Just the year before, his haul was No. 5 in America with three 5-stars, 12 4-stars and 11 3-stars.

While the Rebs have gotten a few commitments for 2018 recently, they’re still ranked 48th nationally at this point.

"Ole Miss is a place people want to come. Some people don't get that. But if you would come spend time there, you would see, man, this is a pretty neat place." -- Hugh Freeze

“Ole Miss is a place people want to come,” Freeze said. “Some people don’t get that. But if you would come spend time there, you would see, man, this is a pretty neat place.”

Fortunately for Freeze, quarterback Shea Patterson has decided to stick around. With so many QBs coming and going these days, it wouldn’t have been a surprise had he exited stage left and hit the reset button.

If Patterson — one of those aforementioned 5-star signees — lives up to his potential playing in Freeze’s high-flying offense, then Ole Miss could make life miserable for the rest of the West this year. With nothing to play for beyond the regular-season schedule, Freeze can treat each and every Saturday like a bowl game.

But all this uncertainty has made it hard for him to fill out his depth chart with enough talent to surround Patterson.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s very difficult to beat the people in this conference when you don’t have a final answer, and I’m not going to tell them something that I don’t know,” Freeze said. “I do know it’s coming, and I do believe I know what it will be, but I’m not going to tell them that because I don’t know for certain. I can tell them what we’ve done and what actions we’ve taken all along the way, and we didn’t just start taking them. We’ve been taking them a long time and certainly feel confident about what we’ve done and how we’re handling it.”

The knee-jerk-reaction types have wondered if firing Freeze would be the best move for Mississippi. Whether or not he had knowledge of the alleged infractions, getting rid of him might play well in the eyes of the NCAA.

At this juncture, that would be a foolish decision. No big-name coach is going to be interested in the Rebs — no matter how glamorous life can be in the SEC — with additional scholarship reductions and bowl bans circling Vaught-Hemingway Stadium like buzzards. Upgrading is not an option. Keeping Freeze makes sense.

For now, all Freeze can do is wait. That's what Mississippi should do, as well. The NCAA hasn't hit many targets lately.

After all, Freeze’s winning percentage (.609) is superior to the last seven coaches who preceded him in Oxford.

“You look forward to it just being final so that you can say, ‘This is what it is,'” he said.

Even Baylor, which let its team run immeasurably more off the rails than Ole Miss ever did, tried to keep Art Briles until a pink slip became absolutely necessary. The Bears are fighting a nationwide public-relations nightmare.

That’s not the case for the Rebels, who are accused of relatively innocent violations like impermissible benefits for players. It’s not like Freeze’s actions — or inactions, depending on how you view it — led to a serial rape culture on campus. If Briles never patrols another sideline, it’ll be too soon.

For now, all Freeze can do is wait. That’s what Mississippi should do, as well. The NCAA hasn’t hit many targets lately.