Conflicting reports link Freeze & McElwain to UF job

Published on Sunday, 11/30/14, at 11:15 p.m. Eastern.

Jim McElwain's CSU team went 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS during the 2014 regular season.

Jim McElwain’s CSU team went 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS during the 2014 regular season.

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports reported Sunday night that Colorado St. coach Jim McElwain could be the leading candidate to the be the next head football coach at the University of Florida. Citing multiple sources, Forde said Florida AD Jeremy Foley spoke to McElwain by phone Saturday night.

In his third season at CSU, McElwain led the Rams to a 10-2 straight-up record and an 8-4 against-the-spread mark. They had won nine in a row before losing their regular-season finale 27-24 at Air Force.

McElwain has SEC experience, working as offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2007-2011 when the Crimson Tide won a pair of national championships.

Forde also noted that his sources indicated Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was also on Foley’s radar. However, as I’ve said many times, I just don’t see Freeze bolting on the Rebels. He is from Oxford and I just don’t think it would be his style to leave so early in his tenure.

According to Bleacher Report, Hugh Freeze is mulling a lucrative offer from Florida.

According to Bleacher Report, Hugh Freeze is mulling a lucrative offer from Florida.

A late-night report Sunday was contradictory to Forde’s. According to Steven Godfrey of Bleacher Report, Freeze already has an offer from Florida in the range of $4.2 to $4.3 million per season. Godfrey indicates that Freeze is weighing his options, with the Rebels seeking to sign him to an extension worth nearly $4 million annually.

I would think Foley would make a run at Freeze before considering making an offer to McElwain. Freeze just led his third Ole Miss team to a 9-3 record that included heartbreaking losses at LSU and vs. Auburn by seven combined points. Freeze’s team won the Egg Bowl  with a slight upset over Mississippi St. on Saturday night in Oxford.

In other college football news today, the Westgate SuperBook updated its odds to win the national title. Those odds look like this:

Alabama 5/4
Oregon 5/2
TCU 4/1
Baylor 8/1
FSU 10/1
Ohio St 15/1
Mizzou 25/1

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