In anticipation of Saturday’s showdowns between Missouri and Tennessee as well as Ole Miss and Arkansas, Saturday Down South takes a closer look at the coaching matchup in each game. This week’s matchups include Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel against Tennessee’s Butch Jones, and Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze against Arkansas’ Bret Bielema.

GARY PINKEL

  • Record as FBS head coach: 183-102-3 (110-65 at Missouri, 73-37-3 at Toledo)
  • Previous coaching stops: University of Toledo (head coach), University of Washington (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, tight ends coach), Bowling Green State (wide receivers coach), Kent State (wide receivers coach, graduate assistant).
  • Achievements as coach: MAC championship, MAC Coach of the Year, three MAC East titles, three Big 12 North titles, SEC East title.

Breakdown: Pinkel has been the head coach at Missouri since 2001, and he’s experienced nothing but success in his 14 seasons on the job. He led Mizzou to three division titles in the Big 12, and led the Tigers to the SEC East title last year in just their second year in the conference. He has his team in the driver’s seat in the East once again, and no coach has done more with less this season than Pinkel has in Columbia. He’s often underrated or unnoticed, but this is one of the best coaches the SEC has to offer.

BUTCH JONES

  • Record as FBS head coach: 60-39 (23-13 at Tennessee, 23-14 at Cincinnati, 27-13 at Central Michigan)
  • Previous coaching stops: University of Cincinnati (head coach), University of Central Michigan (head coach, offensive coordinator, running backs coach, tight ends coach), West Virginia University (wide receivers coach), Ferris State (offensive coordinator), Wilkes University (offensive coordinator), Rutgers University (graduate assistant).
  • Achievements as coach: two MAC championships, two Big East championships.

Breakdown: Jones has Tennessee trending in a positive direction for the first time since the Lane Kiffin debacle, and his Vols are now just one win shy of bowl eligibility with two weeks left in the season. He’s been a dynamite recruiter and a heralded motivator since arriving in Knoxville, and it’s obvious how much his players enjoy playing in his program. Tennessee still has plenty of growth in front of it, but Jones has made the Vols relevant in the SEC in less than two years on the job. That’s a testament to his ability to make something out of nothing, which he did in previous stops at Cincinnati and Central Michigan as well.

Who has the edge: Pinkel has the edge, but that’s no knock on Jones. The Tigers’ head coach has a proven track record of success, and he has far more at stake this week than Jones does. Even if the Vols lose, they can clinch bowl eligibility next week against Vanderbilt, so this is more of a benchmark game for Tennessee than anything else. For Pinkel and Mizzou, however, this is a must-win game on the road, and that desperation gives Pinkel the ultimate edge in the end. Missouri has won nine straight road games dating back to 2012, and Pinkel will surely have his boys ready for the task at hand in front of a hostile crowd in Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

HUGH FREEZE

  • Record as FBS head coach: 33-15 (10-12 at Ole Miss, 10-2 at Arkansas State)
  • Previous coaching stops: Arkansas State (head coach and offensive coordinator), Lambuth (head coach), Ole Miss (tight ends coach, recruiting coordinator), Briarcrest High School (head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive backs coach).
  • Achievements as coach: Sun Belt Conference championship, two Tennessee high school state championships, four-time Associated Press high school coach of the year.

Breakdown: Freeze’s teams have improved each year since he arrived at Ole Miss prior to the 2012 season, and this year the Rebels have a chance to win 11 games for the first time in school history if they win their final two regular season games and the bowl game that will follow. Freeze experienced similar success in his previous stops at Lambuth (an NAIA school since taken over by the University of Memphis) and Arkansas State, proving his rise to prominence in the SEC is no fluke. It’s remarkable to consider less than a decade ago he was coaching high school football, but it’s also a testament to his abilities as a coach at any level.

BRET BIELEMA

  • Record as FBS head coach: 76-38 (8-14 at Arkansas, 68-24 at Wisconsin)
  • Previous coaching stops: University of Wisconsin (head coach, defensive coordinator), Kansas State (co-defensive coordinator), University of Iowa (linebackers coach, graduate assistant).
  • Achievements as coach: Big 10 Coach of the Year, three Big 10 championships, two Big 10 Leaders division titles.

Breakdown: Bielema brought his Big Ten style of football down to the SEC when he left his job at Wisconsin for his current job at Arkansas, and in less than two years he’s gotten his system to work against some of the best teams in the country. He came close to topping Alabama and Mississippi State earlier this year, and finally earned his first SEC win last week by shutting out LSU 17-0. Bielema is uncompromising in his approach, but he’s found the right personnel to make his downhill, smash mouth brand of football work in one of the most athletic conferences in the country — a credit to his abilities as a coach.

Who has the edge: Freeze has the edge based on what these two coaches have done in a short time in the SEC. In three years, Freeze has taken a struggling Ole Miss football program and turned it into a title contender. In two years at Arkansas, Bielema has one SEC win. The Hogs’ head man has his team trending positively, but Freeze has already delivered a few big wins since arriving in Oxford, including a win over No. 1 Alabama earlier this season. Bielema has a lot of upside and a promising future in the conference, but the future is now for Freeze and Ole Miss, earning him the edge in this matchup.